The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THEY missed out on the opportunity to play for the 2016 Arby’s Classic, but the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons made sure that the consolation crown didn’t slip out of their grasp as well as they took the third place prize with them back to Grand Bahama over the New Year holiday weekend.

The Falcons, coached by Kevin Clarke, pulled off a 79-73 victory over Gate City in the tournament’s consolation game at the Viking Hall in Bristol, Tennessee, on Saturday.

“The team had a successful tournament,” Clarke told The Tribune. “In the first game, we played against McCallie, who played in the championship game. We played them tough, but some missed assignments cost us the game.

“The next two games we played some pretty tough teams, but we managed to win both games. Franco (Miller) led us in scoring. I think he averaged 20-plus points throughout the whole tournament. But overall, the team played good as a whole. The Bahamian people would have been proud of the way we played and would have appreciated the way we represented them over here.”

Clarke said the tournament opened a lot of doors for their players as they got the opportunity to meet a number of college coaches who are interested in securing athletic scholarships for them. And Shyrone Kemp got some extra exposure as he was splashed across the front page of the Bristol Herald Courier, winning the Slam Dunk title.

With their performance, Clarke said he and the rest of the coaching staff, including past head coach Norris Bain and assistant Quincy Gray, are confident that Tabernacle Baptist will be a force to reckon with in their drive to win both the Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Sports Association and the prestigious Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic titles in February.

Miller, who was named to the All-Tournament team, and Desmond Butler - their two top-notch players - combined for 51 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the victory.

While Miller paced the way with 29 points on 8-19 from the field and 9-13 from the free throw line, Desmond Butler went 7-16 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe for 22. Alfredo Brown added nine, Regis Cooper and Seandre Todd both had six, Micheal Williams chipped in with five and Kemp helped out with a field goal.

“Franco and Desmond are our team captains,” Clarke said. “And the team goes as they go. We feel really comfortable once we get the ball in their hands.”

Mac McClung, a high-flying junior of the Blue Devils left a lasting impression as he collected 31 points, six rebounds and three assists. Zac Ervin added 21 points for Gate City, which lost its three games in the event by four, five and six points.

“McClung, oh man,” Clarke said. “He’s a hell of a player.”

The Falcons trailed Gate City by 13 points at one point in the third quarter, but roared back and took advantage when Gate City went cold.

“We know that the shots will eventually fall,” Clarke said. “They zoned us and they didn’t play us man-to-man basically the whole first half. Then we started to make some shots and started making chances a little easier for us. I knew that we weren’t going to give up.”

The Falcons rebounded after losing their opener 71-53 to McCallie from Tennessee. They took their frustration out on David Crockett from Tennessee in a 74-31 decision to get into the consolation final.

The night before. Kemp emerged as the third Tabernacle Falcon to don the mantle of tournament Dunk King on Friday.

“I came here for this,” said Kemp, a 6-foot-3 forward, who showcased his explosive leaping ability from the get-go.

In the first round, Kemp started with a slam over Todd, his 5-foot-10 teammate, on his first dunk in the opening round and then turning to the tried-and-true hop over the chip stand in the semis.

In the finals, Kemp took off from just inside the free throw line for a soaring finish and then brought down the house by hanging by his bent elbow on the rim after throwing down a thunderous closing flush.

The two crowd-pleasing dunks in the finals gave Kemp the win over local fan favorite Mac McClung of Gate City and McCallie’s Robert Riddle.

Kemp credited his older brother for training him to be a dunker and his fellow Falcons for the inspiration for his clinching slam.

“My teammates told me to do it and I just listened to them,” said Kemp, who also acknowledged that he’s aware of the similarly named former NBA dunkmeister Shawn Kemp.

In the process, Kemp joined previous Falcons’ slam dunk champions Lennis Pinder in 2001 and Travis Wildgoose in 2009.

Photo courtesy of Bristol Herald Courier