The Tribune

FOLLOWING a break for the holidays, collegiate basketball resumed amongst Canadian colleges and universities with several Bahamians back on the court for their respective programmes.

In U Sports play, several of those players were featured in head-to-head matchups.

Trevon Grant and his Acadia Axemen have gone 3-0 in Janauary, beginning with a 75-69 win over Jordan Wilson, Shamar Burrows and the Dalhousie Tigers.

Grant finished with 13 points (3-5 on three pointers) and six rebounds in 26 minutes while Wilson added four points off the bench for the Tigers.

The Axemen followed with a pair of wins over the Memorial Warhawks.

Grant finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 66-54 win in game one. He finished with six points, ,two assists and two steals in a 79-69 win in game two as the Axemen continue their trek toward overcoming a slow start to the season.

The Tigers’ loss to the Axemen was followed by consecutive wins as Wilson and Burrows faced Azaro Roker and the St Francis Xavier X-Men.

In game one, Roker finished with a near double double - eight points, 11 rebounds - and three blocked shots but the Tigers won 69-66.

Wilson had his most efficient game of the season with 13 points and eight rebounds in just 13 minutes. He was named the Subway Player of the Game.

The Tigers took game two, 78-72. Wilson finished with nine points and six rebounds while Burrows added seven points. Roker finished with seven points and five rebounds.

The X-Men have been winless since play resumed at 0-3. They began the second half to the season with an 84-64 loss to the Saint Mary’s Huskies. Roker finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. Former junior national team standout and Empower Sports Network founder Ollen Smith serves as a member of the Huskies coaching staff.

Leashja Grant and the Lakehead Thunderwolves extended their winning streak to eight games in the 2019 opener, but saw that streak come to an end Saturday night.

The Thunderwolves lost their first home game of the season, 72-58 to the Windsor Lancers. Grant finished with 10 points on 4-11 shooting from the field and 10 rebounds.

“We had a decent start, but once Windsor got into a groove they took over. They did a great job of taking Leashja out of the game,” Thunderwolves head coach Jon Kreiner said. “Windsor kept us off the offensive boards and took advantage of most opportunities they had. “We need to get back to doing the little things and we need to learn from this game.”

Lakehead and McMaster are currently the top two teams in the OUA West Conference.

The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association also opened play last weekend.

The Niagara College Knights continued their momentum from the first half of the season with an 89-85 win over the Redeemer Royals.

Van Hutchinson Jr continues another stellar season with his 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Kecin Cooper also chipped in with four points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Roosevelt Whylly and the Holland College Hurricanes remain undefeated on the season in the ACAA Conference with another lopsided win, 108-91 over the UNB Saint John Seawolves.

Whylly finished with 13 points and seven rebounds on a perfect shooting day. He was 5-5 from the field, made his only attempted three and was 2-2 from the free throw line.