NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The US Virgin Islands upset the Bahamas on Friday night in a thriller to crown themselves champions of the Caribbean.
Playing in the gold medal game of the Caribbean Basketball Championships, the underdogs survived a second half onslaught from the hosts to emerge with a narrow 91-89 result at the Kendall Isaacs Gymnasium.
The USVI led 52-33 at half-time but were floored in the next two quarters as the Bahamas roared back to just miss out on forcing extra time.
Their victory was set up by Kevin Sheppard who produced a huge effort, leading all scorers with 28 points, while adding seven assists and five steals.
Cuthbert Victor’s contribution was also vital as he poured in 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Walter Hodge got 18 points.
For the losers, Jean Cadeau got 22 points and hauled in seven rebounds, with Mitchell Johnson chipping in with 15 points and Alonzo Hinds, 13.
The USVI were out of the blocks quickly, snatching a dominant 27-14 first quarter lead before stretching this to 19 points at the half-time whistle.
Bahamas regrouped, however, storming back to outscore the USVI 28-19 and narrow the gap to 61-71 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Yet again, the Bahamians gave it their all as they out-shot their opponents by the same margin yet again only to miss out at the end.
Jamaica, meanwhile, grabbed bronze when they managed to edge out British Virgin Islands in a low-scoring encounter, 55-54.
They led 37-27 at the half but let the BVI back in, failing to score in the last four minutes of the game, and had to fight in the end to come away with the narrow triumph.
Garfield Blair led the Jamaicans with 14 points but was 55 per cent from the field and missed all from behind the arc, while Patrick Ewing weighed in with 13 points and six rebounds.
In the other playoff games, Bermuda beat Antigua and Barbuda 86-78 to claim fifth spot while Guyana trounced St Vincent and the Grenadines 93-64 to finish seventh.
