The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN basketball players at Canada’s U Sports and CSAA levels will tip off regular season play this weekend after impressive showings on the exhibition circuit.

Jordan Wilson and Shamarr Burrows enter their second season as a member of the Dalhousie Tigers, Azaro Roker looks to step up in a bigger role with the St Francis Xavier X-Men while Kevin Cooper and Stephone Augustin continue the Bahamian pipeline to Niagara College.

Dalhousie will conclude their preseason run this weekend at the St FX Invitational, October 25-26.

In their most recent exhibition, Wilson finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists while Burrows added three points and five rebounds off the bench.

Wilson has averaged 7.8 points per game in four preseason contests and has moved into the starting lineup for the Tigers this season. Dalhousie opens the season November 2 against Roker and the X-Men.

Last season, the Tigers won the AUS Conference Championship and finished fourth overall in the U Sports Final Eight.

The Tigers’ 14-6 record earned them a third-place seed in the conference championship tournament.

Their play throughout the season secured them a spot in the U SPORTS Top 10 each week since the season began and they went into the AUS championship ranked seventh nationally.

Roker has averaged 9.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in the preseason. He finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds against Mount Royal and added 14 points and 10 rebounds against UNB. Last season he averaged 10 points and was a conference leader with 10 rebounds and two blocked shots per game.

Roker and the X-Men were the No.5 seed in the AUS tournament, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Capers and look to improve in the final year of coach Steven Konchalski at the programme.

“Obviously I would like to finish my career at St FX on a championship note, and I believe that this year’s recruiting class added to our returning nucleus will put us on that path,” said Coach K.

The X-Men will also play host to the U SPORTS national championship at the Halifax Scotiabank Centre in March of 2021.

In the CCAA, The Niagara Knights opened their regular season schedule with a pair of losses.

In their opening game the Knights lost 84-75 to the Lambton Lions. Agustine finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in his debut while Cooper had four points and 10 rebounds.

The Knights lost the second game of their road trip to the St Clair Saints 83-65.

Augustin finished with seven points and 10 rebounds while Cooper added four points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Head coach Phil Mosley was disappointed with his team’s losses but is confident they will continue to grow and be a competitor in the OCAA West.

“We are battling with consistency and establishing our identity as a team,” said Mosley.

“We are still attempting to establish consistency in our team defence and limit unforced turnovers.

“I believe in this group and I am confident they will continue to put in the work to grow as a team, and get better in all facets of the game.”