The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Charles W Saunders Cougars showed the Bahamas Academy Stars why they are the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools defending senior boys’ basketball champions.

Charles W Saunders rode into Bahamas Academy on Monday and left with a 75-23 win. But the Stars junior boys’ team avoided a double dose of defeat by beating the Cougars 34-29 in a late game played also at Bahamas Academy.

Cougars 75, Stars 23: Raymond Woods exploded for a game high 32 points and Charles W Saunders stayed undefeated in seven games to remain on top of the senior boys’ standings.

“Right now, the main thing for me is execution with my team,” said Cougars coach Dario Burrows. “At the same time, being undefeated, you can get a little ahead of yourself.

“But I need to keep them humble and allow them to take every game and every play seriously, no matter the competition. At some point in the season, we will meet some tougher teams and we have to be prepared for them.”

The Cougars put up some big scoring quarters with a 20-5 spurt in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game. They used a 23-9 run in the second to post a 43-14 half-time advantage.

Then in the third, they outscored the Stars 14-7 and closed it out with a 19-2 surge in the fourth to seal the deal.

But Burrows said they can’t be satisfied with the victory because he knows they were not clicking on all cylinders.

“We have to do a better job of rebounding,” he pointed out. “My bigs need more discipline. We are practicing it, but they’re not bringing it to the game. That is something we will have to polish up.

“Our free throw shooting was a problem at the beginning of the season, but we’re getting better there. So if we can rebound a lot better, we will definitely play a lot better.”

Ladaian McKenzie had 10, Leroy Gray had eight, Treymon Wright had six, Ramiah Strachan five and Dequan Strachan had four.

Anfrenee Walkes, in his first year coaching the Stars, noted that they are now 1-5, but it was a matter of not being at full strength against the more experienced Cougars.

“We didn’t take care of the basket. They felt the pressure playing the defending champions,” he said. “But apart from that, we have a really young team, but if we put in the work, we can be a force to reckon with next year.

“They don’t see it, but I love them. Look at the ones who are actually crying. It means a lot more to them. They will come back better and stronger next year. I promise you. All of them played juniors last year and this is their first year playing seniors.”

Walkes said despite missing their more seasoned players, who were on a workforce programme, he was proud of the way the young guys played and he would continue to go to war with them.

Stars 34, Cougars 29: Luciano Rolle scored 10, Shakai Rolle had nine points and Akeem Hamilton had eight to provide a 1-2-3 punch for Bahamas Academy as their junior boys prevailed to improve their record.

“This team has a lot of potential. As long as they stay focused and poised, they could go very far,” said Walkes, who had double coaching duties.

“They’re a really good team. We felt the pressure when Charles Saunders made a run, but we were able to hold them off and get the win.”

The Stars opened a comfortable 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and pushed their margin to 23-12 at the half. By the end of the third, they were up 29-18, but in the fourth quarter, the Cougars came roaring back, only to fall short, although they outscored their rivals 13-5. For the Cougars, who dropped to 1-5, Marlon Sargent led the way with 15 points, Denzel Rahming had eight and Isaiah Louis had five.

“We are rebuilding. The guys didn’t execute in the first half, but they came back in the second half and executed. I am proud of them. I see a lot of potential in them. We just want everybody to look out for CW Saunders. We are coming.”