The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN nearly a complete reversal of day one, day two produced a lopsided loss for Team Bahamas who fell to 1-1 in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Antigua and Barbuda recovered from a 26-point loss to Cuba on day one and pulled off the huge upset with a 90-68 win over the Bahamas last night.

Marvin Gray finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bahamas while Alonzo Hinds added 12 and Eugene Bain came off the bench to finish with 10.

Ernest Scott led five Antiguans in double figures with 25 points and nine rebounds. Mario Davis scored 13, Sharife Sergeant and Jerome Richardson each finished with 12 points, Kareem Meade added 11 points and Lennox McCoy finished with a near triple double - eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Scott, who finished 6-14 from beyond the arch, led a three-point barrage from Antigua, who shot 11-31 from distance.

It was the three-point shooting that proved to be the difference in a game where both teams finished with 15 makes at the free throw line.

It was a woeful shooting performance from the field for the Bahamas at just 36 per cent, particularly the starting backcourt of Hinds (4-19) and Gray (6-19), who were the only players to take more than nine field goal attempts.

The Bahamas scored off the opening tip, but Antigua and Barbuda established their identity early, with 3-8 shooting from beyond the arch in the first quarter.

They opened a 13-7 lead when Meade made a layup in transition, but the Bahamas was able to respond with a 12-2 run.

Scott’s three with just under a minute left to play tied the game at 20 headed into the second, after a first quarter marred by seven turnovers for the Bahamas.

Turnovers continued to plague the Bahamas in the second as Antigua opened up a 29-24 lead on a Meade layup in transition. 

Trailing by eight, the Bahamas was able to put together another run to trim the deficit to just one when Hinds made a pair from the line, 34-33 with 1:27 left to play in the half. Another late quarter shot from beyond the arch gave Antigua a 40-37 lead at the half.

In the third the Bahamas looked to gain control and took a 41-40 when Grey connected with Kadeem Coleby for an alley-oop and a 41-40 lead.

Antigua responded with a 13-2 run to take the lead for good, but this time the Bahamas would have no run to counter the double digit deficit.

Scott’s three pointer gave his team a 53-43 lead. 

The Bahamas’ struggles on offence carried over to the defensive end with Bennet Davis sidelined in foul trouble and Richardson highlighted the period as he drove the lane for an uncontested dunk to end the quarter and take a 62-50 lead into the fourth.

Antigua enjoyed their highest scoring quarter to end the game, led by as much as 24 in the fourth and outscored the Bahamas 28-18.

The Bahamas came into the tournament billed as contenders and looked every but the part after they opened with a 31-point blowout over St Vincent and the Grenadines. They now face an uphill battle to qualify out of group A as they now moved into a tie with Antigua at 1-1 and a total of three points.

The Bahamas will face group leader Cuba 6:45pm today local time.

Cuba is 2-0 after they defeated Antigua 82-56 and returned yesterday to defeat St Vincent, 86-58.

Antigua will face St Vincent in tomorrow’s opening game at 2pm.

The Bahamas holds an edge over Antigua in point differential with a +9 while Antigua is at a -4.

Group B comprises the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Guyana and Barbados. 

The top two teams in both groups will advance to play against each other to determine who will play for the title and in the third place game.

The remainder of the teams will compete for positions from 5th to 8th place.

At the end of the tournament, the top three teams will earn berths to participate in the Centro Basket Championship where they compete for spots in the FIBA Americas Championship that will enable the teams to qualify for the FIBA World Cup or the Olympics.