The Tribune

THE University of the Bahamas Mingoes men's basketball team gave fans an early look at the development of the programme and reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming season.

The Mingoes split their series with the visiting Florida College Falcons at the Kendal Isaacs Gym to commence The University's Homecoming celebrations.

The Mingoes took game one on Friday night 106-97 but suffered an 83-71 loss in the second game of the back-to-back.

In game one, the Mingoes' shooting from beyond the three-point arch gave the team an early advantage and they withstood a late Falcons rally in the second half for the win.

Justin Smith led UB with a team high 28 points, Kemsy Sylvestre had 20 points and eight rebounds, Ramon Dames scored 19 with nine rebounds and Christoph McKenzie chipped in with eight points.

Kent Hegarty led five Falcons in double figures with a game high 30 points. Austin Mills had 23, Jordan Benjamin scored 14, Jacob Roark finished with 11 and Jahkeal Samuel finished with 10.

The Mingoes' lead reached as much as 26 at one point but was reduced to just four in the fourth quarter before they pulled away.

UB held a two possession lead at the end of the first (25-20) but broke the game open in the second following three of their 11 three pointers on the night.

The Mingoes outscored the Falcons 37-20 and took a 62-40 lead at the half.

UB continued to fire away from deep in the third quarter and made threes on three of their first five possessions.

The Falcons recovered and went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to just 12 headed into the fourth quarter.

Roark's three pointer in the fourth brought the Falcons within four but it would be as close as they would get as Sylvestre made several key baskets down the stretch to keep the visitors at bay. As well as they shot the ball from three in game one, UB was as bad in game two and finished just 3-30 from beyond the arch on Saturday night.

The Mingoes struggled offensively in game two and Sylvestre was the only player to shoot over 50 per cent from the field. He finished with a team high 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Stubbs had 13 points but shot just 1/12 from three-point range.McKenzie added 12 points but was 0-6 from deep.

Mills led a balanced scoring attack for the Falcons with 15 points in the wire-to-wire win. They led by as much as 30 at one point due to an 18-0 spurt in the second quarter.

It was another successful homecoming outing for the programme.

In 2016 as they prepared to complete the transition toward university status, the College of the Bahamas protected home court in their last act as the Caribs, completing a successful two-game sweep over the Trinity College Bantams.

They completed the sweep with a 72-69 win in the finale led by Smith's 28 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Sylvestre finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Dames filled the stat sheet with six points, five rebounds and five steals.

The Falcons compete in the Southern States Division of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The Mingoes' attention will now shift to the local scene as they prepare for the upcoming New Providence Basketball Association season.

Last year, the Mingoes finished the regular season with a 12-5 record but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Mail Boat Cybots, who eventually went on to win the title.