The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net    

DESPITE a controversial finish on the final possession of the game, the Charles W Saunders Cougars walked away with a 63-62 victory in double overtime against the St Augustine’s College (SAC) Big Red Machine yesterday as the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) rolled on.

Both teams fought tooth and nail in the double overtime thriller but the contest went down to the final play.

With three seconds on the game clock, the Cougars inbounded the ball and Daniel Munroe drove it to the hole and finished with a game-winning layup.

Munroe spoke about how it felt to convert the game-winning bucket.

“It feels amazing. We played hard. We were really in a slump for a few games but now we came back and we are better,” he said.

He expressed that trusting his coach’s game plan led to the big bucket for the Cougars. “My coach set up a plan for us to run. When he saw that the team was defending the basket, he told the big man to pop and give it back to me. I went and did what I had to do and I think trusting my coach is what won us the game,” he said.

Munroe finished the game with 21 points. 

The Big Red Machine surged ahead 26-21 at the halftime break. SAC took advantage of some holes in the Cougars’ interior defence in the third period to take the lead by double digits 34-24 with less than four minutes of play remaining.

Despite the double-digit deficit, the Cougars managed to climb back into the matchup 40-37 headed into the fourth quarter. 

The final period came down to the wire before the Cougars tied the game at 51 apiece to force the first overtime period. SAC failed to convert on their two chances at the end of regulation leading to the extra period.

In double overtime, the Cougars managed to outscore the Big Red Machine 12-11.

Charles W Saunders head coach Dario Burrows gave his perspective on the team’s latest win.

“It was too close at SAC. We didn’t want to be in that position. I told the kids before the game to let’s come out, get the lead and maintain it. That didn’t happen today but hats off to SAC, they played a great game today and they fought,” Burrows said.

He said the 2024 BAISS senior boys defending champions are in the rebuilding phase but they intend to improve their play going into the postseason.

“I have a new bunch and it is a rebuilding team.  We had the game a few times but bad decisions made it a double overtime game. We will clean it up coming into the playoffs,” he said.

The final game of the 2024-25 BAISS senior boys’ schedule will feature Bahamas Academy versus Aquinas College today at the Bahamas Academy school grounds.