Bahamians get on the court in the NCAA

Several Bahamian collegiate basketball players experienced playing time on the court this past week in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men and women’s basketball action.

Charles Bain and the Robert Morris University Colonials made their season debut on Saturday, December 5 when they played against the Point Park University Pioneers (0-3). It was a winning start for the Colonials as they easily took care of the Pioneers 75-57 at home. The game was played at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.

Bain, a senior, finished the game with eight points and one rebound. He finished 3-for-6 from the field that included 2-for-3 from three-point territory.

His first shot was a three-pointer which he made to cap his team 7-0 scoring run with 17:02 left in the first half. The Colonials held a double-digit lead for most of the first half and they cruised to victory.

The Colonials play in the Northeast Conference (NEC) and are the reigning conference champions.

Up next for the Colonials will be an away game against the West Virginia University (WVU) Mountaineers (4-1) tonight. That game will be played at the WVU Coliseum at 7 p.m.

Still looking for their first win of the season are Philip McKenzie and the Houston Baptist University Huskies (0-4). They lost 86-64 at home to the Rice University Owls (4-0) on Saturday at the Sharp Gym in Houston, Texas.

McKenzie came off the bench to finish with a season-high 10 points and added three rebounds and two assists. He shot 66.7 percent from the field as he went 4-for-6. The senior connected on one three-pointer. Altogether, the Huskies shot 50 percent from the field.

The Huskies lost the battle in turnovers as the visitors had a 22-9 advantage in that category. That proved to be the difference in the game. The Owls went on a 25-7 scoring run to end the first half with a 49-24 lead. McKenzie and his team had no answer for that as Rice went on to win the game comfortably.

The Huskies play on Friday night when they welcome the Champion Christian College Tigers (1-0) to Sharp Gym. That game is set for a 6 p.m. start.

The Huskies play in the Southland Conference.

Their last game on Sunday was canceled, but redshirt senior Radshad Davis and the Florida International University Panthers (4-0) remain undefeated. Their latest win came in a home win against the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks (3-2) last Friday. They won 74-70 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, in Miami, Florida.

Davis finished that game with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. He was 4-for-10 from the field for him for 40 percent shooting, and eight of those attempts came from deep where he only connected on two three-pointers. Davis had most of his impact in the first half.

The Panthers opened the game on an 11-0 scoring run but the Gamecocks came back and cut that deficit to three points at the half. The Panthers led the entire first half and went into the intermission with a close 38-35 lead.

The Gamecocks led for most of the second half before Davis and the Panthers took the lead for good with 1:11 remaining in the game.

Their rematch was set for Sunday but that was canceled due to COVID-19 testing protocols, and the sides decided to cancel the game out of an abundance of caution.

The Panthers will play their first road game against the University of North Florida Ospreys (0-6) this Saturday afternoon at the University of North Florida Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

Davis and the Panthers play in Conference USA (C-USA).

Bahamian women’s basketball head coach Yolett “Coach Yo” McPhee-McCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Lady Rebels (2-0) won their game to open the season as they beat University of Kansas Jayhawks (3-1) last week Thursday night at home. The game was played at the Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

Bahamian Valerie Nesbitt, a guard for the Rebels, finished with four points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win. It was her first game of the season and she played 17 minutes. It was not a good shooting night for her as she went 1-for-7 from the field to shoot 14.3 percent.

McPhee-McCuin pushed her team to its first win over a Big 12 opponent since 2007. After getting outscored 23-16 in the third quarter, the Rebels used a 13-3 scoring run to end the game. That was a part of a 21-8 fourth quarter advantage for them.

It was the first loss for the Jayhawks.

The Rebels played Alcorn State University last night, but the result was unavailable up to press time. Their next outing will be another home game. This time they will play Mississippi Valley State University, on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Rebels play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Franco Miller Jr. and his Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (2-1) got back in the win column when they took down the Florida National University Conquistadors, 91-74, at home, at the Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida, on Saturday. They remain perfect at home.

The guard finished with eight points, one rebound and two assists in the win. He finished 3-for-8 from the field to shoot 37.5 percent. He missed all three of his shots from deep.

The Eagles took their first double-digit lead with 9:17 remaining in the first half. The lead stayed in double digits until midway through the second half when the Conquistadors brought the lead down to seven points. Miller and his squad quickly extended the lead back to double digits.

The Eagles return to action on Saturday at noon when they play the University of Miami Hurricanes (2-0). That game will be played at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.

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