The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Team Bahamas ended Centrobasket the way it began, with a lopsided win over Guyana, but ultimately a disappointing seventh place finish.

The Bahamas scored the 91-63 win to conclude their five game stretch in the FIBA Centrobasket Men's U17 tournament, yesterday in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.

Raschad Greene notched his second double double of the tournament with 21 points and a game high 17 rebounds. Sammy Hunter added 19 points and six rebounds, Detarrio Thompson scored 12 points, Grevaughn Goodman added 11 points and six assists. Deangelo Elisee saw his first extended minutes of the tournament and finished with six points and five blocked shots.

It was a much more keenly contested first quarter than the initial matchup between the two countries and Guyana trailed just 7-5 early in the first quarter. The Bahamas took a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to double figures for the first time on a Davano Whitfield layup for a 28-17 lead in the second quarter. The Bahamas limited Guyana to just eight points in the quarter and built a 20 point lead, 39-19 on another Greene layup with just under four minutes left to play. They would eventually take a 45-21 lead into the half. The lead reached over 30 midway through the third quarter on a Hunter jumper to make the score 56-25. The lead reached as much as 35 and they took a 68-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

In one of their best shooting performances from the field, The Bahamas shot 51 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. They outrebounded Guyana, 58-40 en route to 60 points in the paint and had their tournament high of 23 assists.

The Bahamas began the tournament with a 114-63 win over Guyana on July 26. Bridgewater finished with a team high 27 points, eight steals and six rebounds while Goodman finished with 25 points and five steals. They led five players in double figures including Samuel Hunter with 17 points, Davano Whitfield scored 14 and Joshua Dames added 10. Leroy Adderley also finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

They followed with three consecutive losses to Mexico, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as they were relegated to the reclassification round.

Trailing by two with just over two minutes left to play, team Bahamas squandered several opportunities down the stretch in their first loss of the tournament, 83-75 decision to Mexico. Bridgewater led The Bahamas with 31 points, 13 rebounds, six steals and four assists, Greene had 12 points and 12 rebounds while Hunter added 15 points and eight rebounds.

That loss was followed by another late game collapse. After trailing by just two points at the half, The Bahamas was outscored 24-16 in the third quarter on their way to an 83-75 loss to Puerto Rico.

With the loss, The Bahamas was relegated to the reclassification round and was eliminated from contention for next year's FIBA U18 Americas Championship in St Catharine's, Canada.

Bridgewater led the team in scoring for a third consecutive game. He finished with 31 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds and handed out three assists in the loss. Joshua Dames chipped in with 13 points off the bench and Hunter added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Against the USVI, The Bahamas battled back from a 24 point deficit to finally take the late, only to surrender two field goals in the final 16 seconds of a 91-89 loss. Bridgewater finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, Goodman finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, Obrien Pearce II finished with 15 points and Hunter scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Bridgewater led the team with 24.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 3.6 assists per games. Greene averaged a double double with 10.2 points and a team leading 10.8 rebounds per game, Hunter averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, Goodman also averaged 14.6 points per game and was the team's leading three point shooter at 42 percent.