SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018
UNDEFEATED RATTLERS BEAT MARLINS 71-69 IN GSSSA By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE GSSSA Basketball Senior Boys season continued last night at the AF Adderley Gymnasium, highlighted by a matchup of perennial title contenders. The CI Gibson Rattlers used a huge third quarter run to take control and sealed the game at the line late in the fourth for a 71-69 win over the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins to remain undefeated thus far on the year. Terrence Storr scored seven of his team high 17 points in the fourth quarter and split a pair at the line with 7.6 seconds left to play to give the Rattlers breathing room and a two-point lead. The Cobras would escape with the win when two late shot attempts from the Mystic Marlins came up short. Also for the Cobras, Tyrell Butler scored 10 and Sirmar Rolle finished with eight.
Malachi McCoy led the Mystic Marlins with 16 points, Michael Balfour scored 11 and Rakeem Minnis scored 10. The Rattlers took an early 11-4 lead before the Mystic Marlins responded with an 8-0 run capped by a pair of free trows from McCoy to take their first lead of the game, 12-11. The Mystic Marlins missed several opportunities to add to their lead when they missed five of six free throws over the last 1:45 of the period and allowed the Rattlers to stay within a possession. Tyeko Lowe added a layup for a 14-12 lead, but the Rattlers ended the quarter with back-to-back three pointers to take an 18-14 lead at the end of one. The Mystic Marlins tied the game on the opening possessions of the first, but the Rattlers grabbed it right back on a Butler layup before they eventually took a 22-18 lead. Doris Johnsons stayed close with a pair of baskets from McCoy and
Janus Shepherd to tie and a free throw to regain the lead 23-22. After the opening minutes of the second featured four lead changes, a corner three from McCoy gave Doris Johnson a 28-24 lead. A three from Balfour moments later gave them a 33-28 lead just before the halftime buzzer sounded. The Rattlers ended the third quarter on a late 14-2 run to take a 54-46 lead into the fourth quarter. In the early moments of the fourth, Storr missed an opportunity to push the Rattlers’ lead to 10, and the Mystic Marlins took advantage by trimming the lead to six on a Shepherd follow tip-in. The Rattlers led 60-54 with just under five minutes left to go but Doris Johnson made another three pointer to pull within three. As they did for much of the night, Butler and Storr had the answers for the Rattlers to stay ahead. Butler made a contested runner in the lane.
Storr came up with a steal at half court and finished with a fast break dunk to go ahead seven (68-61) but Doris Johnson had another run. With 1:17 left to play, CI Gibson led 70-66 with possession, but wasted a fast break opportunity that could have clinched the game. A three-point play from Dave Lindsey brought the Mystic Marlins within one (70-69) with 32 seconds left to play, but they fell just short of completing the comeback. After both teams exchanged possessions, Storr split the pair at the line for the game’s final margin. The Rattlers continued their momentum from the first half of the season where they took a 4-0 record and first place lead in the standings before the break. Over the holidays, they also won the Providence Basketball Club’s 14th Annual Christmas Classic. In the title game they defeated St George’s 80-59 and finished the tournament at 6-0.
Gray, Jets on win streak By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ebastian Gray’s scoring has helped the Northern OklahomaEnid Jets to a win streak in a battle atop the conference standings headed toward the postseason. Gray has scored in double figures the last three games, a three-game winning streak for the Jets, as they continue to recover from a losing streak between November 20 and December 6. The sophomore wing finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five steals in a 97-59 win over Rhema Bible College. He followed with 12 points and nine rebounds in an 88-83 win over Redlands Community College and most recently tallied 10 points and eight rebounds in Monday’s 116-101 win over Eastern Oklahoma State College. The Jets improved to 9-5 on the season and evened their record at 2-2 in the conference. Through 14 games, Gray is averaging 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on 43 per cent shooting from the field. He took on a greater leadership role with the Jets this season as one of five sophomores and is the second leading scorer of all returning players on this year’s squad. “My approach this year is way different than last year. This year I am more aggressive with scoring, rebounding and defending at a high level. I am one of the leaders of the team so I will have to lead this young group of individuals onto the right path for us to be successful,” he said in the offseason. He was one of the driving forces leading the Jets to the
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National Junior College Athletic Association tournament, where they advanced to the second round. “One of my expectations this year is to make it back to nationals. This is a young talented group of freshmen that came in so we have a strong possibility of winning our conference so I expect big things coming from my team and me,” Gray said. He appeared in 25 games as a freshman last season and averaged 11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He shot 43 per cent from the field, 75 per cent from the free throw line and 33 per cent from three. Looking to build on those numbers, Gray expects to transition to the NCAA Division I level after a successful sophomore season. “My recruitment has stepped up recently over the last two months. I received calls from Loyola Chicago, Mercer University, and Southeastern New Mexico. But I have two schools right now that have been more aggressive with recruiting me - Southeastern Louisiana University and Arkansas-Little Rock. Gray and fellow Bahamian Robert Joseph helped the Jets to a No.23 ranking in last year’s tournament. The Jets scored a 95-90 win over No.10 Southern Idaho Golden Eagles in an upset win. Gray finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots while Joseph added two points off the bench. In the second round, they were eliminated 82-76 at the hands of the Vincennes Trailblazers, ranked No.7 in the bracket. Gray finished with seven points and 11 rebounds.
BAHAMIAN basketball players in various leagues across the globe continued their seasons following the winter break and head toward the postseason.
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FENG AND THOMPSON HEADLINE THE 6TH PURE SILK-BAHAMAS LPGA CLASSIC SHANSHAN Feng of China, the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, and Lexi Thompson, who won the 2017 Race to the CME Globe, headline the final commitment list for the sixth edition of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic January 22-28 at the Ocean Club Golf Course, Atlantis resort. Also entered in the $1.4 million event: world No. 3 So Yeon Ryu, who shared the Rolex Player of the Year Award with Sung Hyun Park; defending champion Brittany Lincicome, who defeated Thompson on the first hole of a sudden death playoff after both players; and Georgette Rolle, who won the Bahamas qualifier in December. The list of entrants features five of the top 10 players in the world and 12 of the top 20 finishers in the season-long Race to the CME Globe competition. The final field of 108 players will be completed after two spots are awarded from Monday’s 18-hole qualifier at the Ocean Club. Feng won three times in 2017, including back-toback titles late in the year at the Toto Japan Classic and Blue Bay Classic. She finished fourth in the Race to the CME Globe and on the LPGA money list. Thompson’s season included victories in the Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC and the Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim. Ryu won the ANA Inspiration and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. In addition to Feng, Ryu and Thompson, who is No. 4 in the world, other top-10 players from the Rolex Rankings are No. 6 In-Kyung Kim and No. 8 Ariya Jutanugarn. “We are super excited about this year’s Pure SilkBahamas LPGA Classic,” said Emily Norell, tournament director. “The field list is shaping up nicely with 12 of the top 20 female golfers from last year’s Race to the CME
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SEBASTIAN Gray has scored in double figures the last three games, a three-game winning streak for the Northern Oklahoma-Enid Jets.
Bahamian basketball players take global spotlight By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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The trio of Bahamians in French Basketball’s Pro B Division had varying results and places in the standings. Jaraun “Kino” Burrows finished with 12 points, in just 16 minutes, for FOS Provence Basket’s in a 97-76 win over Caen. They improved to 10-4 with the win and extended their win streak to six games and fifth place in the playoff race. The veteran forward has been one of the team’s leaders this season averaging 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 66 per cent from the field. Mike Carey Jr and Zane Knowles continued to struggle for Étoile Charleville-Mézières. They suffered another loss, 93-77 to Denain, but Carey was a bright spot with 21 points and eight rebounds. Knowles played sparingly in just three minutes.
After an 0-9 start to the season, they pulled off the biggest upset of the year when they defeated previously unbeaten Entente Orleans 86-85 for their only win of the year. On the season, Carey is averaging 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Through nine games, Knowles has averaged 6.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season. Also in the French Pro B Division, Jonathan Fairell and his fifth ranked ADA Blois defeated 14th ranked Poitiers 78-71. Fairell came off the bench to score 12 points in just 11 minutes. JR Cadot has made an immediate impact with KIA Sakimovil Navarra Pamplona of Spain’s Liga Espanola de Baloncesto (LEB Silver). LEB Silver is the second division in the country. Cadot finished with 13 points in his team’s 84-72 win over L’Hospitalet. With their third
consecutive win, Navarra improved to 10-7 on the season and improved to sixth place in the league’s overall standings. Cadot was on the roster of Zornotza Saskibaloi Taleda in LEB Silver last season when he averaged 11.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 31 contests. In October, the Windsor Express selected Cadot with the 13th overall pick in the National Basketball League of Canada Draft. Veteran forward Bennet Davis continues to put up numbers for MAFC in Hungary’s A Division. Against his former team, Kormend, he finished with a double double - 15 points and 12 rebounds - while shooting 3-6 from threepoint range. Davis is averaging 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game but MAFC has struggled as the 13th ranked team in the league and a 3-12 record.
IM WINS SEASONOPENER IN BAHAMAS GREAT EXUMA, Bahamas (AP) — Sungjae Im closed with a 7-under 65 to win the season-opening Great Exuma Classic on the Web.com Tour. Im became the 16th player in the history of PGA Tour’s developmental tour to win in his first start. The 19-year-old from South Korea played bogeyfree in windy conditions Tuesday at Sandals Emerald Bay. He finished at 13-under 275 for a four-shot victory over Carlos Ortiz of Mexico. Ortiz birdied the final hole for a 69 and broke out a five-way tie for second. That was worth an additional $25,200 for Ortiz. Rafael Campos, Brett Drewitt, Rhein Gibson and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez tied for third. The Web.com Tour stays in the Bahamas one more week with the tournament starting Sunday.