Coleby, Happinets win two games against the Dragonflies

It was a strong weekend for Bahamian professional basketball player Kadeem Coleby and the Akita Northern Happinets as they ended a four-game losing streak, winning two in a row against the Hiroshima Dragonflies, in the top league in Japan, the B1-League.

Coleby scored 13 points in each of the home wins against the Dragonflies, on Saturday and Sunday, at the CAN Arena Akita in Akita, Japan. On Thursday, Bahamian forward Mark St. Fort signed with the Dragonflies but was unavailable for this game, preventing the Bahamians from going up against each other.

In the second game on Sunday, Coleby went 5-for-9 from the field, shooting 55.6 percent from the field, in a 84-78 win for the Happinets. He was one of four Happinets players to finish the game in double figures. Alex Davis had a team-high 18 points in the win, and Thomas Kennedy led the way for the Dragonflies with 23 points.

Coleby had a better game from the field on Saturday, finishing 6-for-9 to shoot 66.7 percent in a 95-73 blowout win. He was one of five Happinets players to finish in double figures in that game. Javier Carter led the way with 17 points. Gregory Echernike was the Dragonflies’ leading scorer in that game with 21 points.

With these two wins, the Happinets jump to seventh in the East Division of the league with a 10-8 win/loss record on the season. The Dragonflies dropped to 4-14 as they sit in the eighth position in the West Division.

In addition to finishing with 13 points on Sunday, the Bahamian had four rebounds, two steals and a block. He played 26 minutes.

It was a competitive start for both teams in that game as Coleby and the Happinets had a 23-22 lead heading into the second quarter. The home team led 41-37 at the half.

The Dragonflies tied the game at 60 with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter on a pair of free throws from Jamari Taylor. After that, they ended the quarter on a mini 4-0 run, and went into the fourth quarter with a 64-60 lead.

That 4-0 run at the end of the third quarter was extended to 8-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Davis stopped the run with two free throws with 8:47 remaining to cut the lead to 68-62. Coleby checked into the game with 1:49 left in the game with his team up 75-73. His presence helped ignite an 8-0 run to give them control of the game. They went up 82-73 lead with 25 seconds left in the game.

Coleby scored his final two points on the night when he dunked on a fast break with five seconds left in the game. His team led 84-76 after that dunk and held on for the win.

It was an easier second half for the Happinets on Saturday evening. After a slim 35-32 lead, the home team went on to extend that lead to 68-54. The fourth quarter belonged to Happinets as they outscored the Dragonflies 24-14 to win the game comfortably.

Coleby came up with clean block on a one-hand slam attempt by Kennedy in the second quarter of that game. That block was one of his two blocked shots in the game. The Bahamian center finished with six rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes on the floor.

Next up for the Happinets is an away game against Alvarak Tokyo (12-5) on Wednesday night at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. That game is set to get underway at 7 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST), 14 hours ahead of local time here in The Bahamas.

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