The Tribune

THE men’s NCAA basketball season continued this weekend and several Bahamian players continued to figure prominently in the gameplans for their respective division I universities.

Leading the platoon of Bahamian players was Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield in his Oklahoma Sooners’ return to the court for the first time since the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Hield returned to form following the brief break and scored 17 points in the No. 22 ranked Sooners’  82-63 win over Missouri in the SEC-Big 10 challenge Friday in Norman, Oklahoma. Hield shot an efficient 6-11 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the three-point arch. He also added a team high five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

The junior guard is averaging 16.7 points, six rebounds and 2.3 assists per game on the season as the Sooners lead the Big 12 at 5-2.

The Sooners are slated to take on Tulsa 2:30pm December 13, broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.

In the Southeastern Conference, sophomore forward Dwight Coleby tied his career high in scoring when his Ole Miss Rebels went on the road to top the Oregon Ducks, 79-73.

In just eight minutes, Coleby scored 10 points on 3-4 shooting. He also added three rebounds and one blocked shot. It was his first time scoring in double figures since the season finale in his freshman year when he scored 10 against Georgia.

In his freshman season with the Rebels, Coleby played in 28 games with four starts and averaged 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 10.4 minutes. He shot 47 per cent from the floor, and finished fifth on the team with 18 blocked shots, fifth on the team.

As a sophomore, Coleby is averaging 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game thus far.

The Rebels are scheduled to return to the court this weekend when they host Western Kentucky, 4:30pm December 13.

In the Big Ten, Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr and the Michigan State Spartans fell out of the AP top 25, but were able to regain a spot in the win column.

Following a pair of losses to ranked teams, No.4 Duke and No.11 Kansas, the Spartans followed with an overtime loss to unranked Notre Dame.

On Saturday, Nairn and the Spartans were able to turn things around when they defeated the the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions, 85-52.

In the American Athletic Conference, Danrad Knowles is still the only member of the Bahamian trio to see action on the floor this season for the Houston Cougars.

Knowles was limited to just 14 minutes in the Cougars’ latest win, a 71-58 win over Abilene Christian.

On the season, the redshirt sophomore has been averaging 6.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. His best outing came in the second game of the season when he finished with 11 points and nine rebounds in a 72-57 win over Morgan State.

Knowles will look to have a greater impact when the Cougars host Houston Baptist 8pm December 16.

Kentwan Smith has been on a hot shooting streak for the Stetson University Hatters, averaging 12 points per game in his last five contests.

Unfortunately his increase in scoring has not translated into wins for his team who stands at 3-7 on the year in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Smith finished with 11 points in a 90-59 loss to Davidson Saturday night, following his 14-point outing in an 87-76 loss to IFPW, 87-76 just two days before.

Stetson looks to avoid their second three game losing streak of the season when they travel to face Florida Atlantic, December 16.

In the Big South Conference, Tristian Curtis got his second start of the season for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in a 58-54 win over Auburn. He finished with two points and five rebounds and is averaging 2.8 points and 4.3 rebounds on the season.