Bahamians make their presence felt in the NCAA

There were three Bahamian collegiate basketball players and a Bahamian women’s basketball collegiate head coach in action this week in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI).

Kai Jones experienced 23 minutes on the court for the University of Texas Longhorns (5-1) as they took care of the Texas State University Bobcats (3-2), 74-53, on Wednesday night at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Jones converted three of his five field goal attempts, finishing with eight points. He also had four rebounds, two blocks and one steal. He was perfect on his two attempts from the free throw line.

The Longhorns started the game with four quick points, and with 15:15 left in the first half, they were up 10-3. Sophomore forward Jones then blocked a layup attempt from Bobcats forward Nighael Ceaser at the rim. He then sprinted up the floor to get on a fast break and rose for an alley-oop dunk. He received a perfectly placed lob from guard Courtney Ramey. The highlight plays took place in less than 10 seconds as Jones put his team up 12-3. The alley-oop dunk was his second dunk of the game.

The Longhorns held a 13-point lead by the end of the first half in which Jones did most of his damage. His team went into the intermission up 33-20. The Longhorns’ defense was too much for the Bobcats in the second half.

Former Brewster Academy player Jones and the number 13 ranked Longhorns will play their first Big 12 opponent, the number two ranked Baylor University Bears (4-0) on Sunday December 13. It will be a road game for the Longhorns, with it being scheduled for the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

Bahamian Annya Moss dropped a team-high 16 points off the bench for the Mississippi Valley State University Devilettes (0-1) on Tuesday night. They lost 85-60 to the Murray State University Racers (2-2) at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The guard was able to go 6-for-14 from the field on the night and was 2-for-6 from deep. Moss was also able to finish with four rebounds and a block.

The Bahamian checked into the game with 5:11 left in the first quarter and wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. She made a jump shot with 5:08 remaining in the first half to bring her team within three points.

In the second quarter, Moss made two three-pointers. The second one came with 2:01 remaining in that quarter that cut into the Racers’ lead as the scoreboard read 40-34.

After a halftime score of 36-32, the Racers came out aggressively in the second half. They pushed the lead to 46-36 with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, they led by 15 points, 64-48. The Racers kept the double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter.

Moss returns to action for the Devilettes tomorrow night when they face off against Bahamians Valerie Nesbitt and Head Coach Yolett “Coach Yo” McPhee-McCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels (3-0). It will be a road game for Moss and the Devilettes and a home game for Nesbitt, McPhee-McCuin and the Lady Rebels as it will be played at the Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. That game is set for a 1 p.m. start time.

McPhee-McCuin was on the sidelines coaching the Rebels to their third straight victory on Tuesday night. They dominated the Alcorn State University Braves (0-3), 104-48, at the Pavilion.

Nesbitt experienced 15 minutes of play, finishing with six points, three rebounds, four assists and one steal. She went 2-for-2 from the field and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe.

The Rebels were on fire Tuesday night as they shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field – the second-best shooting percentage in program history. The record is 63.5 percent, done back on December 1, 2004. They also had 26 assists, their most in a game since 2009.

Nesbitt checked in the game with 6:25 left in the first quarter. She made her first basket in the second quarter, a layup to put her team up 33-16 with 7:02 remaining. Her final basket from the field came with 5:43 remaining in the second quarter to put her team up 37-21.

Ole Miss never trailed in the game.

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