By RENALDO DORSETT
Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
CHAMPIONSHIP Week is in the books, and it was a series of contrasting results for Bahamian players in their respective Men’s Division I conference tournaments.
In the Big 10 tournament, Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn had the deepest run toward a tournament title but suffered an 80-69 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the conference title game yesterday afternoon.
Nairn finished with five points, two rebounds and two steals in the game. His three-pointer with 3:46 left to play gave the Spartans a 62-60 lead and a steal with less than a minute left to play were key in the Spartans’ ability to force overtime.
For the Big 10 tournament, the freshman guard averaged three points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
In the tournament opener, he finished with two points, five rebounds and three assists in a 76-67 win over Ohio State and followed with one point and a blocked shot in a 62-58 upset over the nationally ranked No.8 Maryland Terrapins in the Big 10 semi-finals.
The Spartans finished the season at 23-11, 14-7 in the Big 10.
In the Big 12, Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners fell just short in the conference semi-finals with a 67-65 loss to the Iowa St Cyclones. Hield finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
In the quarter-finals, the Sooners won 64-49 over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Hield finished with 22 points and three rebounds.
The Big 12 player of the Year averaged 19 points per game in the tournament.
The Sooners entered the Big 12 tournament as one of the conference’s hottest teams with wins in four of its last five games.
Oklahoma State finished the regular season at 20-13 overall and 10-11 in the Big 12.
In the American Athletic Conference, Danrad Knowles and the Houston Cougars fell in the second round of their conference tournament with a 59-51 victory at the XL Center in Hartford Connecticut.
Knowles finished with eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
In the opening game of the tournament, Knowles finished with two points, five rebounds and four assists in a 66-60 win over the Tulane Green Wave.
The Cougars entered the tournament as a No. 10 seed and defeated the Green Wave for the second time in just over a week.
The Southeastern conference tournament field saw both Dwight Coleby and Tavario Miller experience early exits at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Coleby and the Ole Miss Rebels, ranked No.6 in the SEC bracket, were upset by the No.11 South Carolina Gamecocks (60-58) in a thrilling finish.
Coleby fouled out in 13 minutes and finished with three points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
In his sophomore season, Coleby has averaged 5.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in helping the Rebels to a 20-12 record overall, 11-8 in the SEC.
The Rebels were upset after they won each of the last four games against the Gamecocks, including a season sweep last season.
Miller and the Aggies suffered a devastating loss that may have ended their hopes of a tournament bid. He played just six minutes as the No. 5 ranked Aggies were upset by the No.13 Auburn Tigers (66-59).
The Aggies swept the season series, including an 80-55 win less than two weeks ago at College Station. The Aggies led by 10 at the half, but allowed the Tigers to open on a 16-1 run to take control for good and advance to the quarter-finals.
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