The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN players are prominently featured on several of the top teams in the latest men’s basketball national rankings for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Holland College Hurricanes are ranked the top team overall after opening the season at No.3 and moving up one spot to No.2 last week. The Hurricanes feature second-year forward Roosevelt Whylly and first-year guard Abel Joseph on its roster.

The team has raced out to a 3-0 start with an average margin of 20 points per win. Whylly, the teams leading returning scorer, played just 16 minutes in a thrilling victory over No. 15 Mount Saint Vincent. He still managed to finish with two points, five rebounds and three steals.

On the season he is averaging 10 points, six rebounds and 2.3 assists per game on 48 per cent shooting from the field.

Joseph came off the bench to finish with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. His go-ahead free throw with 22 seconds left in regulation proved to be the go-ahead score for the Hurricanes.

Joseph is averaging 10.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44 per cent from the field. After scoring just four in the season opener, he scored 14 points in each of the last two games.

The Hurricanes will look to maintain that No.1 ranking this weekend when they host the St Thomas University Tommies.

Last season, Whylly helped lead the Hurricanes to a bronze-medal finish in the CCAA National Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament First Team.

The Hurricanes will be host of this year’s CCAA Men’s Basketball Championships. Whylly ended the season averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per game.

Joseph earned an opportunity with the Hurricanes after an offseason at the national level where he averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in Panama.

Jackson Jacob and his Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks dropped from the top spot to No.3 after their first loss of the season.

The Ooks now stand at 7-1 after an 88-72 loss on the road to Lakeland. They were unable to overcome an offensive struggle where they were outscored 25-8 in the first quarter.

“(After seven wins) we lost our first ACAC Conference game shorthanded, on the road, and against a good team,” Ooks head coach Kevin Connolly said, blaming lack of defensive focus for a slow start that left his team down 24-2 at one point in the first quarter.

Jacob finished with 25 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win. The second-year guard is among the CCAA leaders in several offensive categories. 

He is currently the third leading scorer at 27 points per game and second overall in total points scored with 216. He leads all players in field goals made (85) and fourth in made free throws (36).

The Ooks look to get back on the winning track this weekend in a back-to-back series against Augustana. The Ooks look to repeat as CCAA men’s national champions.

The Niagara Knights also continue to move up the poll and are currently ranked No.9 in the CCAA. They opened the season at No.13 and progressed to No.10 in week two.

The Knights feature a trio of Bahamian players - Van Hutchinson Jr, Jordan Wilson and Kevin Cooper.

They opened the season at 2-1 after a season-opening loss to Sheridan followed by wins over Mohawk and Humber.

Hutchinson is averaging 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He posted 18 points and 10 rebounds against Sheridan and 24 points and seven rebounds at Mohawk.

Wilson, the versatile forward, is averaging seven points, 6.7 rebounds and three assists per game.

His best performances thus far have been six points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the opener and followed by a  13-point, eight-rebound performance.

Cooper didn’t play in the season opener but played 10 minutes apiece in games two and three.

The Knights look to continue their win streak to three games when they begin a three-game road trip tonight against Lambton.

The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is the national governing body for organised sports at colleges in Canada. It was formed in 1974. The CCAA hosts 10 annual national championships.

Its equivalent body for governing sports at universities is the Canada Interuniversity Sport. Some institutions are members of both bodies for different sports.