SPORTS SECTION E
NBA, PAGE 3
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018
CR Walker Knights, Tigers take early lead after day 1 By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE 25th Annual GSSSA Track and Field Championships got underway yesterday in a return to the format with both junior schools and senior schools competing simultaneously. The AF Adderley Tigers have taken an early lead among the Juniors in a bid to disrupt the four-meet winning streak of the CH Reeves Raptors, while the perennial champions of the Senior
division, the CR Walker Knights, have their usual day one lead. The Tigers have totalled 260.50 points to lead the eight-team field, ahead of the second place Raptors with 209. The SC McPherson Sharks are third with 178.50, clinging to a slight lead over the HO Nash Lions in fourth with 178 while the DW Davis Royals round out the top five with 130. The TA Thompson Scorpions posted 11, LW Young Golden Eagles scored 84 and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves finished
with 14. Among the eight senior schools, the Knights lead the field with 243.50 with the CI Gibson Rattlers in second place with 217.50 and the CV Bethel Stingrays third with 196. The CC Sweeting Cobras are fourth with 105, GHS Magic are fifth with 93.50, the RM Bailey Pacers in sixth with 90, Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins in seventh with 63 and Anatol Rodgers completing the field with 56.50. Individually, the 100m, 400m, 1,200m and 1500m were contested on the track with a number of
events on the field to conclude the first day. Again, the results were spread around but several athletes won multiple events on day one, highlighted by the 100m, 400m and 4x100m relays on the track. In the Under-14 Girls, Sherinique Sears of HO Nash took first place in the 100m (13.06 seconds), 400m (1:04.76), long jump (4.26m) and anchored her team to another first place finish in the 4x100m (55.72). Daniel Ermilus, also of HO Nash, took first place in the U-14
Boys 100m (12.01) and 400m (55.30). In the Senior Division, Rowlia Joseph of CV Bethel won both the 400m (1:02.25) and 1500m (5:45.74). Denvaughn Whymns reached the CARIFTA qualifying standard in the U-20 Boys 100m in a time of 10.60. Full meet results are available at www.tekresults.net. • The opening ceremonies are set to take place at 9am this morning, following the completion of the 5,000m.
Coleby honoured, Munnings named Player of the Week By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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t was a week of commemorative achievements for two of the Bahamas’ top collegiate basketball players as the NCAA regular season enters its final week. Travis Munnings was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week as he continues to lead the ULM Warhawks’ late season surge and Dwight Coleby was honoured on Senior Night for his stellar season with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Munnings continued to post season best performances just after he won conference player of the week. He finished with 26 points and nine rebounds, but the Warhawks saw their five-game winning streak end with a 73-67 loss to Troy. He shot 8-14 from the field, 4-9 from three-point range and 6-8 from the free throw line in 28 minutes. Munnings made a three pointer with 1:46 left to play as the Warhawks came within three (66-63) but Troy pushed the lead back to six with a corresponding three. It was the third time Munnings scored at least 26 points in the last six games and has averaged 20 points per game during that timespan. En route to winning Conference Player of the Week honours, Munnings averaged 21 points and 5.5 rebounds while helping ULM to a homecourt sweep over UT Arlington (84-71) and Texas State (79-71). He also made 9-of21 three pointers (41 per cent) during that two-game stretch. “Travis Munnings always plays with tremendous energy, however, he found an extra gear in the past two games against UT Arlington and Texas State,” ULM head coach Keith Richard said. “Travis is shooting the ball better
this season, especially from behind the 3-point line. He’s also doing all the little things well during this winning streak. Travis is playing his best basketball at a good time, and we’re glad he’s being acknowledged for his efforts.” With the five-game winning streak, the Warhawks have won seven of their last nine conference games, climbing from 12th (1-6) in the standings into a tie for third place at one point before the Troy loss dropped them back down to fifth. The Warhawks have two games left on the regular season, against Arkansas Little-Rock tonight and March 3 against Arkansas State. “I really don’t care about the conference standings right now,” Richard said. “The focus is to just keep playing the way we’re playing. We’ll keep preaching and working on the things that we’ve been doing for the last five weeks.” In Conference - USA, with two games left, Coleby and the Hilltoppers control their own destiny as the season concludes. The Hilltoppers sent its seniors out in dominant fashion with an 88-66 win over Old Dominion in their home finale as they improved to 22-7, 14-2 in conference play. Coleby finished with 11 points and eight rebounds “I think we are playing our best right now, everyone is trusting each other, we’re playing with a lot of confidence and we’re happy just to be out there to perform every night,” Coleby said. “We work together everyday, we communicate, we know where we are on the court, we just talk to each other through the game and we know where to find each other, it’s how we know how to play with each other.” WKU scored the first six points of the game, built it to a 29-9 lead and never looked back. The Hilltoppers shot 59.3 per cent from the field – firing 55 per cent or better for the
By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
DWIGHT COLEBY, of the Bahamas, was honoured on Senior Night for his stellar season with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. fifth straight game – and outscored the Monarchs 50-30 in the paint. Coleby has thrived in his new surroundings as a graduate transfer with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Last season with the Kansas Jayhawks, he averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in his lone season in Lawrence after transferring from Ole Miss.. He was already set to spend the 2015-16 season on the sidelines as a transfer but he suffered
a torn ACL in his left knee during a light team workout in October 2015 and had to undergo a gruelling rehab process. “I’ve talked about our seniors all year long. They’re incredible people, they always play great, they’re the kind of people that you want to be around and you want to coach,” Hilltoppers head coach Rick Stansbury said. “I told yall one thing Dwight would average more than 1.7 like he did at Kansas. I think he
surpassed all of our expectations, the one thing I knew we were getting is a quality person and when you are trying to mix a whole new team together you better have good ingredients, meaning good people and that’s where it started.” The Hilltoppers will travel to face No. 24 Middle Tennessee on Thursday with the C-USA title on the line as the Blue Raiders are one game ahead of WKU in the league standings.
Valerie Nesbitt named Panhandle Conference first team selection By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL team standout Valerie Nesbitt was awarded with a postseason accolade following her first season of collegiate basketball for Chipola College. Nesbitt was named a Panhandle Conference first team selection as a freshman in the NJCAA ranks. The 5’6” point guard averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 46 per cent from the floor in 26
‘IT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL GAME I HAVE OFFICIATED THUS FAR IN MY CAREER’
contests. She also totalled a team leading 50 steals on the season. She finished with 18 points and five assists as the Lady Indians finished their season with a 69-65 loss to No.2 Gulf Cast State. Chipola finished the season 14-13. It was her second 18-point performance of the year following a 96-48 win Over Arkansas Baptist in December. She set a season high with 19 points in just her second game of the season - a 72-69 loss to Florida Southwestern.
She dished a season high eight assists in an 87-51 win over Hillsborough Community College in November. Last summer, Nesbitt made her senior national team debut at the FIBA Women’s Centrobasket 2017 in St Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. The Bahamas opened the tournament with a closely contested hard-fought loss to Mexico and went on to also drop decisions against Jamaica, the USVI and Puerto Rico before they won the finale against Guatemala.
VALERIE NESBITT
CHRISTIAN Wilmore continues to set new milestones for Bahamian basketball referees and continues his progression through the FIBA ranks at some of the organisation’s most prestigious events. Wilmore was a member of the on-court officiating crew in Monday’s FIBA World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifier between the United States and Puerto Rico at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, California. The United States went on to win 83-75 and moved to 4-0 in Group C. “I have officiated regionally at Centrobasket and two Junior World Championships and for me this experience is on the top of my list because it is the highest level game I have officiated thus far in my career,” Wilmore said. “It’s been a dream come true to be selected for this game. I started at the junior level refereeing many tournaments and championships but to reach the senior level in games that matter and that are very important for countries to determine whether or not you go to the World Cup is a sign that my hard work and my dedication to my craft has paid off and is being recognised.” The crew also included Guilherme Locatelli of Brazil and Alejando Sanchez of Uruguay. “The first thing I do is to scout the teams, so I go and watch previous games they have played, in this case the previous window and I want to get a feel for what they try to do on offence and defence. “I want to get a sense of the behaviour of the team - Are they physical? Are they run and gun? What’s their temperament, are they fiery or is it cool, calm and collected? From that I can prepare myself for what I need to focus on. “The mental imagery is important as I prepare myself for what I will see in the game. Also, you want to go through any new rules that may have come into effect,” he said. “When you have worked so hard you definitely don’t want to squander the opportunity so there are some nerves of not performing up to your capability. Just like the players we want to have the best game once they get to a high level, the same is true for us and we want to demonstrate that we can handle the situation and perform under pressure.” At home, Wilmore served as the instant replay official in the first window when the Bahamas hosted the
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