SPORTS SECTION E
NBA Standings
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016
East & West, Page 3
Bahamas Half Marathon all set for November 20
SHOWN (l-r) are Anastasia Turnquest, Cara Douglas and Charles Johnson.
WITH about 400 registered participants, the 2016 Bahamas Half Marathon is in full swing for Sunday, November 20. The fun is scheduled to begin 6am at Arawak Cay. For the 4th year, Bahamas Roadmasters Running Club will be hosting the event, and donating part of the proceeds to a local charity. This year they have named the Crisis Center and Lupus 242 as the recipients. Caribbe-
an Bottling Company (CBC), the local distributors of CocaCola products, including Powerade and Dasani, will be hydrating all participants for the 3rd consecutive year. “The Bahamas Roadmasters and the Bahamas Half Team are looking forward to another fun and exciting event. We are thankful for our sponsors, especially CBC for continuing to support us with beverages, t-shirts, and participant bags,”
said Anastasia Turnquest, secretary, Bahamas Roadmasters Running Club. “We are excited to add to this event with both the 5K, and a one-mile course for people in wheelchairs as well. Join us on Sunday for a world class event.” “Here at Caribbean Bottling Company we believe in supporting activities and events that encourage healthy living and community outreach,” said Karla Wells-Lisgaris, brand
manager. “The Bahamas Half Marathon allows us to do this, while assisting a great group to host an amazing event that will this year benefit both the Crisis Center and Lupus 242.” With options ranging from a half marathon to a 10K and 5K, this event is truly for everyone. Registration is open both online at www.bahamashalf.com and at the Sports Center in the Harbour Bay Shopping Center until November 19.
Bahamians clash in NCAA Division 1 By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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onday night presented an early season matchup between a pair of Bahamians in men’s NCAA Division I basketball and the Legends Classic Austin Regional Round. Travis Munnings may have had the better individual numbers, but Shaquille Cleare and his Texas Longhorns emerged with the 80-59 win over the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. After a double double in the season opener, Munnings finished one point shy against Texas with nine points and 10 rebounds. He struggled from the field at just 2-13 and 1-6 from three-point range. Cleare finished with eight points and six rebounds and shot 4-7 from the field. Texas, the No. 23 ranked team in the country, moved to 2-0 while the Warhawks fell to 1-1. The Longhorns got off to a fast start to open the game and Cleare took advantage inside early on to score twice within the first two minutes. His second basket would cap a 10-3 lead heading into the first media timeout. Munnings made a three, a part of a 9-0 run to give the Warhawks a 12-10 advantage, but the lead would be short-lived. A balanced scoring attack led to a 37-28 Texas lead at the half. The Warhawks would trim the second half deficit to four (41-37) but it would be as close as they would manage for the remainder of the game.
“I thought our guys shared the ball pretty well, did a good job taking care of the ball, but we didn’t shoot the ball great in the first half,” Longhorns head coach Shaka Smart said. “They’re a good team. They’re going to win their share of games this year. They are hard to guard with their motion offence, and they are dangerous because they have a lot of different guys who can make threes.” Warhawks head coach Keith Richard echoed the sentiment of the threepoint line being the deciding factor as the Warhawks shot just 24 per cent from beyond the arch. “Well, we’re going to have to be a shooting team. We’re going to have to be a shoot it and make it team. But they forced us out just a step or two further than we needed to be at times, but we won’t see that length in our league. There will be some teams with some length but not like that. We’ve actually shot the ball pretty well in practice and exhibition and the first game. But again, they bothered us.” Also at the University of Texas, Lashann Higgs and the Longhorns’ No.8 ranked women’s team stumbled out of the game with a 71-50 loss to the Stanford Cardinal. Higgs finished with seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. “They were the better team. We haven’t executed things in practice the way we need to,” said Longhorns head coach Karen Aston. “We went through a stretch where we fouled too much, and we went through a stretch where we weren’t helping each other defensively. We will get home and
LOUISIANA Monroe guard Sam McDaniel (30) drives the ball around Texas centre Shaquille Cleare during Monday’s game in Austin, Texas. (AP Photos/Michael Thomas)
LOUISIANA Monroe forward Travis Munnings (1) looks to shoot against Texas centre James Banks (4) in the first half.
get to work because that’s all we can do.” According to a vote of Big 12 head coaches, the Longhorns are predicted to finish second behind Baylor and also finish with a single first place vote. The Longhorns are coming off a 31-5 record and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2015-16. Texas went 15-3 to finish second in the league and tied the school record for most Big 12 victories with 15. The Longhorns have appeared in back-to-back Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship games. Also in the state of Texas, Tavario Miller posted another productive outing for the Texas A&M Aggies. Miller finished with seven points and three rebounds in just 14 minutes of the Aggies’ 76-53 win over American University. They improved to 2-0 on the season. After holding Northwestern State to just 27.9 per cent shooting on Friday during the season opener, the A&M defence was again solid Monday night and held the Eagles to just 35 per cent shooting from the floor (21-of-60). In the NEC, Mike Carey Jr and the Wagner Seahawks suffered a letdown after an opening night upset on the road over the No.18 ranked UConn Huskies. The Seahawks fell 8776 over the UMass Lowell Redhawks. The Redhawks answered with a 9-0 run, however, over a five-minute stretch to take a 13-7 lead. The Seahawks struggled on the offensive end, shooting 36 per cent (22-of-61), which included a 7-of-26 (27 per cent) effort from threepoint range. Carey posted a double
double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Carey’s first three of the season gave Wagner its largest lead of the game very early on, a 7-4 advantage. LJ Rose made his debut with the BYU Cougars and shined with a win. Rose got the start and finished with four points, three rebounds and three assists in the Cougars’ 8273 win over the Princeton Tigers. “It was a dogfight on every possession. That’s a very good basketball team we played tonight, and a win that will be a good one for us in January and in March. Hats off to Princeton. They’ll win a lot of games,” said BYU coach Dave Rose. “We played a lot of guys that haven’t played at all for our programme this season. The result was really positive for our staff - the way they played aggressively and together.” BYU improved to 11-1 in home openers and 9-3 in season openers under Rose. The Cougars improved to a 5-0 overall series record against the Tigers. LJ Rose graduated from the University of Houston last year and committed to join the BYU for his post graduate campaign. Following an injury plagued senior season with the Houston Cougars where he appeared in just two games, Rose will look to conclude his collegiate career on a strong note. BYU has just four guards eligible for play this season after allowing Rose to step in and fill an immediate void. Although he played sparingly as a senior, as a junior Rose averaged 9.8 points and 5.3 assists in a starting role when relatively healthy.
Track and field season to open with BAAA Odd Distance Meet By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net TRACK and field season is approximately a month away and, as customary, the season will open with the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Odd Distance Meet. All set to be hosted on December 17 at the original Thomas A Robinson Stadium, the meet features a noon start time with an admission fee of $15 for adults and
$7 for children. Bahamian track and field athletes will begin their trek toward qualification in meets such as the CARIFTA Games in Curacao in April to the IAAF World Championships in London this August. The Odd Distance Meet was introduced over 30 years ago and is now a staple in the BAAA programme with some significant performances. In the Odd Distance meet, athletes are able to start their competitive season while participating
in events which are unusual and different than their usual competitions. Instead of competing in the traditional distances like the 100m or 200m, athletes will compete in either the 75m, 150m or 300m. Instead of competing in the 400m or 800m athletes can participate in the 300m or 600m. In the field events, athletes have to take limited approaches while concentrating on their styles. Coaches take this opportunity to teach the proper techniques
of the events and, in some cases, allow athletes to test and stretch their limits by running over-distance. The meet is always exciting with numerous athletes participating. With some junior athletes moving to the senior ranks, it is a time when some of the Under-17 move up to the Under-20 Division and test themselves. Many of the top junior athletes from last year will still be eligible for junior competition this year and the public looks forward to
seeing them open their competitive season. The meet is highly anticipated because it is the first competition on the track after months of preparation. For both the coaches and athletes, it’s used as a measuring stick to see how their off-season has progressed and sets the tone for the remainder of the year. More than 400 athletes registered to compete in last year’s meet, which also included athletes from the Family Islands.