The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

NCAA Men’s Division I basketball moved into its second week and several Bahamian players were in action over the weekend.

Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn and the Michigan State Spartans got an early start to this week’s festivities when they defeated the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the Battle 4 Atlantis Campus Game.

Nairn scored the first field goal of the game and finished with two points, seven assists and one block.

It was his second consecutive game with seven assists.

Michigan State began this season with one of the toughest November schedules in recent memory. They began the year with losses against No. 10 Arizona and No.2 Kentucky. They face No.1 Duke on November 29 and have a potential matchup against No. 12 Louisville at B4A.

They have also travelled further than teams traditionally would with the home opener at the Armed Forces Classic in Hawaii, Champions Classic in New York and the B4A in the Bahamas. Ending with the return flight from Duke on November 29, the Spartans will travel more than 13,600 miles in 22 days.

After an opening night upset, Mike Carey Jr and the Wagner Seahawks in the Northeastern conference have dropped a pair of games, including Saturday’s home opener.

Carey was one of three Seahawks in double figures and finished with a season high 21 points and eight rebounds in a 70-64 loss to the Farleigh Dickinson Stags.

The Seahawks fell to 1-2 while the Stags remained undefeated at 3-0.

Carey, the senior guard, had a slow start to the season shooting just 26 per cent, but broke out of what he called a “slump” despite averaging 13 points and nine rebounds per game.

“I was in a slump the first two games but when you have a guy like coach Mason backing you and supporting you, you just find a way,” he said in the post-game press conference. “I just do what the team needs to get better. If it means me taking a charge, rebounding, scoring, I try to do whatever we need.”

Wagner overcame an early 24-16 deficit, using a19-0 run over nearly seven minutes, to take a 35-24 lead. Over that stretch they made four three pointers while holding the Stags without a made field goal and causing four turnovers.

In the second half, tied at 56, Carey’s three-point play conversion gave Wagner a 59-56 lead with 1:08 left in regulation but they could not close out the win.

Fairfield scored nine of its 11 points in the overtime from the free-throw line.

Wagner will try to get back in the win column tomorrow night when they host American University.

In the Sun Belt Conference, Travis Munnings, Prince Cooper and the Louisiana Munroe Warhawks have also dropped a pair of games after an opening night win. Munnings finished with 12 points and six rebounds in an 89-70 loss to Colorado following last week’s lost to Texas.

The Warhawks finished the night shooting 41.3 per cent from the floor overall (26-of-63) and hit 10 of their 22 three-point attempts.

“We just played two Power Five teams in our last two games. Each of these teams will probably do really well in their leagues,” Warhawks coach Keith Richard said. “Colorado is extra special at home and it is a learning experience for our young guys. There is a benefit in playing in the Legends Classic and that is the fact that we get to play some neutral court games against some teams that are similar to us in the way they play.”

Following tonight’s loss, the Warhawks travel to Cheney, Wa. to continue competition in the 2016 Legends Classic tournament. ULM will do battle with Seattle at 5:35 CST on Monday night in Cheney.

In the American Athletic Conference, Danrad Knowles and the Houston Cougars defeated Angelo State 84-72.

Knowles finished with another near double double - nine points and game high 8 rebounds.

Overcoming a sluggish first half, the Cougars, trailing 39-32 at halftime, started the second half on a 27-5 run and built a 59-44 lead with 11:41 left.

The Cougars never led by fewer than nine points the rest of the way in taking their second exhibition victory of the season.

The game did not start well for the Cougars, who trailed 10-1 less than three minutes into the game.

The Cougars play in the Gulf Coast Showcase when they face George Mason tomorrow in Estero, Florida.