SPORTS SECTION E
NAUGHTY
Column, Page 3
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017
Top seeds in win column at Nationals By BRENT STUBBS But Justin Lunn, Joshua TurnSenior Sports Reporter quest, William ‘JJ’ Fountain and bstubbs@tribunemedia.net Jody Turnquest all made their presence felt. Day one of the weeklong tourIT was a successful return to the National Tennis Centre for top nament produced some exciting seeds Kerrie Cartwright, Simone matches as the players are vying Pratt and Danielle Thompson for spots on the Bahamas’ Davis as the 2017 Giorgio Baldacci Cup team for men and the Fed Open Nationals got underway on Cup for women in 2018. In what turned out to be the Monday. Rising junior stars Sydney marquee match on the ladies’ side Clarke and Afrika Smith also between two Grand Bahamian natives, Pratt held off a gallant joined them in the win column. But it was busy as usual as the effort from the 2014 Fed Cup men’s top seeds of Baker and player/captain Larikah Russell Spencer Newman, Marvin Rolle, with a 6-7, 7-5 (10-4) win. “It was a very tough match,” said Kevin ‘KJ’ Major Jr and Philip Pratt, a senior at Nova Southwest Major Jr all prevailed.
University who was back in the tournament for the first time in at least four years. “It was great to be back in my country plying again. I just want to give it my best and whatever happens, happens.” Russell, the veteran of the two at age 32, managed to pull off the first set in a tie breaker and was tied at 5-5 when the 21-year-old Pratt got a break and held serve to win and force the third set tie breaker. In the tiebreaker, Pratt surged ahead 6-2 and was able to secure the win. “The first set, I started out playing very nervous because I haven’t played in a while,” said Russell, who is coming off a Bahamas Softball Federation’s national
championship title with the Sunshine Auto Wildcats as their shortstop. “But I started to settle down and put more balls in play and I felt a little more confident, so I was able to settle into the match. I’m very proud of myself in taking her to the limit. Hats off to her for hanging in there.” With a little rest, Pratt bounced back and pulled off her second win with a 6-0, 6-2 win over junior player Elana Mackey. Top seed Cartwright shines In what turned out to be a relatively easy day on the court,
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Cougars hold off Mingoes for win By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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he University of the Bahamas Mingoes gave the visiting Spring Arbor University Cougars all they could handle, but it wasn’t enough in the first of their two matches played on Monday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. The Cougars, who surged from No.20 to No.16 in the second regular season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 poll last week, withstood the challenge to prevail with a 84-76 triumph. SAU’s head coach Ryan Cottingham said it was good to get the first one under their belt. “We were pleased with how we played,” he said. “UB is very good. They play hard, they are athletic, they are aggressive and they are very well coached. It was an honour to play. They never went away. We had our hands full, so we feel very good to get out here with a victory today.” The Mingoes, coming off their final game for the year in the New Providence Basketball Association on Friday night, are 3-4 but head coach Bacchus Rolle said they should have won against the Cougars. “Lil disappointed. We had some spurts there where we were just out of it mentally,” he said. “It was a winnable game, great adversary. We can play with them. We could get a win.
We just had some miscues and some of the players just didn’t come to play mentally.” Senior Zach Medendorp, shooting 12-for-16 from the field and 2-for-4 from behind the three-point arch, canned 26 points with four rebounds to lead SAU. Sophomore Paul Marandet was the only other player in double figures with 16 points on 7-of-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Both Jeff Beckman (with 10 rebounds) and Drew Zuidema had eight points and Ben Geschke (six rebounds), Tommy Hamilton and Brandon Durnell (six rebounds) all chipped in with seven points. Playing 38 minutes and 24 seconds, sophomore Kemsy Sylvestre connected on 14-of-26 from the field and 5-for-10 from the charity stripe for a game high 33 points to lead the Mingoes. He also had nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block shot. Ramon Dames contributed 14 points, five rebounds and four assists and Justin Smith came up with 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. Their next best scorer was Brian Jennings with five points. The Cougars roared to a 31-24 lead at the end of the first quarter and held on for a 46-38 advantage at the half. At the end of the third, the Mingoes trailed 66-56 and even though they managed to cut the deficit to
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IN THE PAINT: The Spring Arbor University Cougars defeated The University of the Bahamas Mingoes 84-76 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium yesterday. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
TEAMS ARRIVE AS BAHAMAS BOWL WEEK OFFICIALLY KICKS OFF By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BOWL week has officially kicked off in the Bahamas. Both participating teams in the 2017 Bahamas Bowl, the Ohio University Bobcats and the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers, arrived in New Providence yesterday to begin a busy week of activities leading up to Friday’s matchup on the field. The Bobcats were the first to arrive at the Atlantis resort, and head coach Frank Solich said the entire programme was eager to enjoy their time in the Bahamas with the main focus - a win on the field. “It’s a great destination, our players our staff our families really looked forward to getting down here and it was an enjoyable trip. I’ve been here a couple times previously, the people are great, it’s a very hospitable place. The bowl itself has grown. “We expect to have a good time and play some good football at the end of it. For the players, coming to a warm destination like this is really exciting to them. You hear about the Bahamas, most of our players have never had a chance to be here so they’re delighted to actually get this opportunity and to be a part of it.” The Bobcats went 8-4, 5-3 in the Mid American Conference play, and Solich leads the team to its 11th all-time bowl appearance in his 13th season at Ohio. He has taken the Bobcats to nine bowls, including in each of the last three seasons. He is the third-longest tenured coach in the FBS ranks. “I’m excited about practice and I know that’s not the way the players are, they are excited so they will have some free time to enjoy the island and this
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Cornish posts career highs, one of Seawolves’ leading scorers By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Pages 4, 5
JARON Cornish has excelled in recent weeks in an increased role with the Stony Brook Seawolves and after a series of career highs, has become one of the team’s leading scorers on the season. Cornish is second on the team on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in five consecutive contests. Cornish set a new career high on December 12 when he finished with 22 points in an 84-81 loss to Hofstra. He scored 18 of his 22
points in the second assists in a 77-64 half to ignite the Sea win over Brown on Wolves offense, howNovember 22. ever their comeback He dished nine effort that eventually assists and added fell short. four steals off the He followed that bench in 20 minutes game with 10 points in the Seawolves’ in Stony Brook’s 101-58 win over 62-60 loss to ProviShawnee State and dence Sunday finished with a then afternoon. season high eight The junior guard points, five rebounds did not see action in and five assists in JARON CORNISH the first four games an 85-76 loss to of the season, but Bucknell. played 10 minutes in his NCAA He finished with 15 points, Division I debut and added four six rebounds and two blocked points, three rebounds and two shots in a 75-71 loss to LIU
Brooklyn,11 points in a 76-66 win over Colombia, The junior guard transferred to Stony Brook after completing two NJCAA seasons with the Broward College Seahawks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a sophomore, he averaged 18.7 points and 4.5 assists per game on 42 per cent from threepoint range. While leading his team in nearly every offensive category, Cornish was also one of the top players in the NJCAA and ranked in the top 50 Division I JUCO players in the nation in free throws made, made free throws per game, total points, steals and points per game.