SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2017
Bahamas in 0-2 hole after loss to US Virgin Islands By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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BAHAMAS BOWL SET TO FEATURE HIGH-SCORING TEAMS By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE 2017 Bahamas Bowl features a matchup of high scoring teams as two of the hottest squads in their conferences get ready to set the stage for an intriguing game. The University of Ohio Bobcats and UAB Blazers will both enter the December 22 contest with 8-4 marks and record-setting offences. Bobcats head coach Frank Solich has led the Bobcats to nine bowls, including in each of the last three seasons. The Bobcats come into the Bahamas Bowl with four victories in the last six games. They average 38.9 points per game and set a school record with 467 points scored. Their high octane offence has 40 or more points in half of their games this season. Junior running back A.J. Ouellette and sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke lead an offence that averages 244.2 rushing yards per game. A dual threat quarterback, Rourke has five 100-yard rushing games, while Ouellette has four 100-yard efforts. Rourke also holds the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 21 and his 37 total touchdowns is one away from tying the Ohio season record. He also has thrown for 2,018 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. Head coach Bill Clark has led the Blazers to a bowl game in just his second season. The team has won six of their last eight games and all six games at home. The Blazers average 29.6 points per game, and UAB has scored 30 or more points six times. UAB averaged 190.2 rushing yards per game, led by true freshman running back Spencer Brown, who broke the
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eam Bahamas finds itself in a 0-2 hole of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers after they dropped their second consecutive game of the first home-away series. The visiting US Virgin Islands got the better of the Bahamas in the rivalry once again with their 93-85 win at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Both teams went into last night’s game seeking a much-needed win after opening round losses on Friday night but a short-handed USVI got timely shooting in the fourth quarter to stifle a late Bahamas rally. Shaquille Cleare and Kino Burrows each finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bahamas. David Nesbitt scored nine, LJ Rose finished with nine points and 10 assists and Michael Bain added nine points. Jamaal Samuel led USVI with a game high 26 points, Walter Hodge and Giorgio Milligan each finished with 18 and Xavier Richards added 12. Mike Carey began the comeback trail for the Bahamas when he opened the third quarter with a corner three, only for Hodge to answer with a three of his own on the ensuing possession. A six-point USVI lead was cut to three on a Cleare follow but the Bahamas had trouble getting defensive stops and containing Hodge and Samuels on the perimeter. USVI maintained a six-point lead but a trio of turnovers on consecutive possessions for the Bahamas allowed USVI to extend the lead to 10 on a Richards layup. Cleare’s dunk ignited a 6-0 run for the Bahamas and trimmed the deficit to 67-63 headed into the fourth. Rose dished an assist to Livingston Munnings to start the quarter, but USVI answered with scores from Mulligan and Richards. Joseph made a corner three but USVI would answer with points from Hodge or Samuels for every
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GOLF
ABOVE THE RIM: Shaquille Cleare shoots over US Virgin Islands players at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium last night.
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Neely’s career high highlights standout performances By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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THE Thanksgiving holiday weekend featured standout performances from Bahamian players at the collegiate level, highlighted by a career high from Shalonda Neely. Led by head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, the Jacksonville University women’s basketball team finished the Fairfield Inn Thanksgiving Classic with a pair of wins and improved their winloss record to 4-2. Neely scored a career high 12 points and added six rebounds (6-10 from the field) in a 74-65 win over Monmouth. Neely, who also played a career high 24 minutes, pushed Jacksonville back up by 10 with a hook shot on the team’s first possession of the latter half. “We’re learning. We’re growing. This is a new
team,” said McPhee-McCuin. “If our team can really buy in to defending at a high level, we’ll have even more success. I was disappointed with our free throw effort tonight. We left 12 points on the board, but overall, I’m proud that we found a way to win.” After going scoreless in the first game of the season, Neely scored four points in each contest against Iona, Alabama and Nicholls State. After an appearance with the national team at the Centrobasket Championships this summer, Neely said it set the tone for an improved season this year. “It helped me to get back to my toughness, my fighting and being strong offensively and defensively, she said. Last season as a sophomore, Neely appeared in 27 games with
three starts. She earned a spot in the starting lineup during the ASUN Tournament and WNIT action vs. Georgia Tech. She posted a career high 10 points with seven rebounds vs. NJIT and finished the season with 52 points, 66 rebounds, 11 steals and nine blocks. They closed out the tournament with a 64-43 victory over Webber International. “We have depth, and it was very important to give the bench some opportunities to get some shots and playing time,” said McPheeMcCuin. “Now, we’ll prepare for a good team in Florida.” The Dolphins will take to the court again when they face the Florida Gators at 7pm tonight. “Like every year the end goal is to win a championship,”
McPhee-McCuin said after the Dolphins’ first practice of the season. Described as one of the toughest schedules in programme history, depth can be the deciding factor on how far the team goes. “This is the most depth we’ve had from top to bottom - which I’m extremely excited about,” she said. “We have a lot of new pieces, we only have one freshman so we’re very mature. We brought in some junior college players. Our senior leadership has been phenomenal, this is year five for us as a programme and you can tell because there is a way we do things and for the most part the girls have bought into that so I’m excited about where we are going.
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