SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017
Shockers, Cybots take early lead in playoffs By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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he Shockers and Mail Boat Cybots took early leads in their respective series as the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) Playoffs got underway Monday night. Both series will continue with game two on Friday. Shockers – 93 Rockets – 69 Salathiel Dean’s double-double led four Shockers in double figures en route to the lopsided win. Dean finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, all game highs. William Rigby also posted a double double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, Crosley Wilmore added 14, Floyd Armbrister scored 13, while Lamont Armaly finished with six points and a game high nine assists. Henderson Curry led the Rockets with 15 points, Tomeko Moxey scored 13 and Rashard Morley finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Armaly’s ability to share the ball spread to the entire Shockers offence as they finished with 24 assists to the Rockets’ nine. Defensively, they also recorded 17 steals and forced 28 turnovers. Dean opened the game with back-to-back three pointers for an early 6-0 Shockers lead. The Rockets would pull within two, but the Shockers would close the first quarter on a 10-5 run. Wilmore’s late jumper gave them a 19-10 which they took into the second. Wilmore would also give the Shockers an eight-point lead in the second quarter with a three at the 8:25 mark for a 24-16 lead. The Rockets would respond with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to grab a 28-26 lead on a Curry three pointer. The final two minutes featured several lead changes before Armbrister’s three-point play with 17 seconds left gave the Rockets a 37-34 lead at the half. In a back and forth game, it would be the Shockers turn to go on a run in the third. Leading 41-39, Jackson Dalmon made a jumper and it sparked 10 unanswered points as the Shockers took a 51-39 lead. They led 6351 headed into the fourth quarter and were never threatened the rest of the way. The Shockers led by as much as 27 on a Diangelo Woodside layup late in the quarter. Mailboat Cybots – 96 University of the Bahamas Mingoes - 65 The Cybots had a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures and eight players with at least seven points. Ernest Saunders scored a team high 19 to lead the Cybots, Liv-
GOIN’ HARD: Mail Boat Cybots routed the University of the Bahamas Mingoes 96-65 as the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) Playoffs got underway at the Kendal Isaacs Gym on Monday night. Both series are scheduled to continue with game two on Friday. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ingston Munnings added 14, Dario Seymour finished with 13 and Dominique Beadle added 11. Jeremy Huthcinson finished with nine points and 13 rebounds while Delvonne Duncombe, Cordario Pinder and Lerecus Armbrister each chipped in with seven points. Kemsey Sylvestre was the lone Mingoes player in double figures with 21 points. Ramon Dames added nine points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Mingoes shot just 31 per cent from the field and a paltry four per cent (1-24) from the three-point line while the Cybots
were 42 per cent from the field and 42 per cent (8-19) from three. The Cybots had a 12-rebound advantage on the boards and dished 14 more assists. The Mingoes took an early four-point lead on their opening two possessions but the Cybots would take control midway through the first period. Clinging to an 11-10 lead, the Cybots ended the first on a 9-1 run. Hutchinson’s tip in with 1:16 left to play gave them a 20-11 lead. The lead reached double figures for the first time on the opening possession of the second quarter when Munnings made a layup. UB reduced the lead to five at
the 6:23 mark when Justin Smith made a jumper for a 28-23 score, but the Cybots finished strong to take a 47-35 lead at the half. The Mingoes were held to just eight points in the third quarter as the lead ballooned to 30 headed into the fourth (73-43). The playoff series in the John Archer Division began over the weekend with the Commonwealth Bank Giants defeating the Pirates 104-87 and Mr Ship It Regulators beating the defending champions PJ Stingers with a 108-86 victory. The four teams are expected to be back in action for game two of their best-of-three series tonight.
HORSE SHOW
See Page 2
MORE THAN 80 TEAMS SET FOR BAHA JRS COMMUNITY TOURNAMENT By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Baha Juniors Football Club will host a season ending community-building event featuring various age groups with the backdrop of a festive atmosphere. Over 80 teams will compete in the Baha Juniors FC Community Shield Tournament at the Winton rugby field on March 25 and April 1. The tournament will feature play in six divisions. The Under-6, U-8 and U-10 teams will play 9am to noon while the U-12, U-14 and U-17 games will be played 2-5pm. Finals will be hosted on April 1. The tournament was originally scheduled to begin this weekend. However, the high volume of teams led to the rescheduling. “The whole point of it is to host a community tournament and this one is particularly special because you hardly get to see the different age brackets watch each other’s games and interact with each other. It can serve as an avenue for mentorship both on and off the field for the players and coaches,” said Marcus Cheetam, Baha Juniors club director. “Initially, we did not expect this overwhelming show of support but the clubs have really had a great response. People have been stepping up and helping in every way imaginable.” He added that the tournament will continue the club’s effort of adding further exposure and training opportunities at the developmental level. “This is a first time venture but we have wanted to do something like this for quite some time. For Baha Juniors, the youth programme has been very strong. The U-6 won their division title, while the U-8 and U-10 both lost in semis. “On a whole, the level of soccer awareness is on the rise. We had Tottenham form their programme that has brought exposure and for us, Baha is doing its third trip to Disney to participate and all these activities at different levels just raise awareness of the sport. The coaches feed off the energy of the kids and vice versa. I have had more people reaching out to me for their kids to become involved than I’ve ever had before.” Event sponsors include EFG Bank and Trust, Starbucks, Gatorade, Aquapure and others. “We just want the parents and the kids to have an outstanding time. We want the kids to come out, be competitive and enjoy the day while getting some great games in. It’s like having a mini-fair but based around the sport.”
Lashann Higgs and Longhorns advance to NCAA Tournament By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net JUST one Bahamian player saw her programme advance to the Women’s NCAA Tournament following the “Selection Monday” process for the field of 64. Lashann Higgs will participate in her second NCAA Tournament in as many seasons as her Texas Longhorns were named the No. 3 seed in the Lexington Region. The Longhorns will have the good fortune of hosting the first two rounds at home at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. They begin tournament play Friday against No.14 seed Central Arkansas at 2:30 pm local time on ESPN2. In her sophomore season, Higgs averaged eight points, three rebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal in just over 17 minutes per game.
Last year, as a freshnament berths. The man, she averaged 7.2 Longhorns hold an allpoints, 2.9 rebounds time NCAA Tournaand 1.4 steals per game ment record of 38-28 in 13.2 minutes. She es(.576). They are hosttablished an important ing the NCAA First role in the rotation for and Second Rounds for the Longhorns highthe second consecutive lighted by a season high year and the seventh 16 points over then sectime since 1997. Texas ond ranked Baylor. is 21-9 (.700) all-time The Longhorns finin NCAA Tournament ished the season 23-8, games played at home. concluded by a 62-59 LASHANN HIGGS Last season, the loss to the West VirLonghorns finished ginia Mountaineers in the Big 12 31-5 and earned an NCAA Elite Tournament Semi-finals. Eight appearance. Higgs finished The second-seeded Longhorns the final game of their season will be joined in Austin by sixth- with a career high 19 points in seeded North Carolina State, the Longhorns’ 86-65 loss to the 11th-seeded Auburn and 14th- eventual champion UConn Huskseeded Central Arkansas. ies in the Bridgeport Regional Texas is making its 30th all- Semi-final. It was the second time appearance in the NCAA consecutive season the Huskies Tournament, becoming just the ended the year for the Longhorns fourth school in NCAA history after they routed them by 50 in to be selected for 30 NCAA Tour- the 2015 Sweet 16.
The Longhorns are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in programme history. Texas is 4-4 all-time when playing as a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs. Texas has six wins in 12 games this season against Associated Press top-25 opponents. The Longhorns have been ranked among the nation’s top-20 teams the entire season. In the coaching ranks, Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her Jacksonville University Jaguars came up just short in making consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament but earned a berth to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Dolphins received an at large bid and will play on the road at Georgia Tech on Thursday. The tournament field consists of 32 automatic invitations – one from each conference – and 32 at-large teams. As a runner-up in
the league tournament, Stetson received the ASUN’s automatic qualifier. “Since taking over this programme, our goal has been to win championships,” head coach McPhee-McCuin said on the Dolphins’ athletic website. “We’re obviously disappointed with the outcome of this year’s results but the opportunity to participate in the WNIT is quite an honour. I am encouraged as another postseason berth shows the true trajectory of our programme. We will represent Jacksonville University and the ASUN to the best of our ability.” The Dolphins’ 23 wins tied the school mark for most wins in a season and they also had the best RPI in the conference. Last season, McPhee-McCuin led the Dolphins to a 22-11 record, the A-Sun tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament championship berth in school history.