For the first time ever, a pair of Bahamians will face off against each other in the Sweet 16 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Basketball Tournament, and one guaranteed to go through to the Elite Eight, joining Bahamians such as Rick Fox, Magnum Rolle and Quentin "Three Ounce" Hall who made it that far.
Chavanno "Buddy" Hield, the Big-12 Player, came up huge for the Oklahoma Sooners in their third round game against the Dayton Flyers yesterday, particularly in the final two minutes of the game. The 6'4" 209-pound two guard from Grand Bahama buried two free shots with 1:30 remaining to give the Sooners a 62-56 lead, and then after Dayton cut the deficit to four, forced a turnover at half-court and appeared headed to a game-changing lay-up, Hield composed himself and recorded a huge block in transition. That play awed the crowd in attendance, and in the minds of many, saved the game for the Sooners. He connected on one of two free shots with 23 seconds remaining, and the Sooners prevailed 72-66.
Hield and the Sooners are now packing their bags for Syracuse, New York, the site of their Sweet 16 match-up against Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. and the Michigan State Spartans. Nairn, who hails from New Providence, scored just one point for Michigan State but the Spartans' starting point guard played 17 huge minutes as he dictated the pace of the game, leading his team past the second seeded Virginia Cavaliers in an upset. The Spartans held on down the stretch to win, 60-54, knocking the heavily favored Cavaliers out of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. It's also their seventh trip to the Sweet 16 in the past eight seasons under coach Tom Izzo.
When seventh seeded Michigan State (25-11) and third seeded Oklahoma (24-10) get together in the East Region semi-finals on Friday, Bahamians will be focussed on the two sons of the soil. Against Dayton yesterday, Hield shook off a poor shooting performance to finish with 15 points. He was just 4-for-13 from the field, and 1-for-6 from three point land. Hield actually sunk his first three point shot before missing five in a row from distance.
The Sooners were led by Jordan Woodard with 16 points, Hield added 15, five assists and three rebounds, and Frank Booker came off the bench to score a dozen. It was steal by Woodard an ensuing assist to Hield for a lay-up that gave Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish. They rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half with defense, holding Dayton scoreless for 9:04 and without a basket for 10:32 in the second half.
Hield's lay-up with 5:56 remaining made the score 57-56 in favor of Oklahoma, giving them the lead since early in the second half. They led by double digits early in the game, but Dayton came alive with a 9-0 lead at the start of the second half. Scoochie Smith scored 16 for Dayton, Darrell Davis added 15, and Kendall Pollard powered in 13, as they faltered late.
For Oklahoma, it's their first time in six years in the Sweet 16. As for Nairn and the Spartans, they would not be denied against the Cavaliers.
Travis Trice led them in scoring with 23 points, and Branden Dawson powered in 15 points and pulled down nine boards. Anthony Gill paced the Cavaliers with 11 points, and Darion Atkins added 10. Like Hield and the Sooners, it was defense which got the job done for Nairn and the Spartans.
The Spartans limited the Cavaliers to 29.8 percent shooting for the game, and Virginia finished just 2-for-17 from three-point range. Nairn's lone free shot was the final point for the Spartans, giving them a 60-52 lead with just 16 seconds remaining. Trice was huge, burying a three point shot, and sinking three of four free shots for the Spartans in the final three minutes of the game.
Now, all eyes here in The Bahamas will turn to Friday's match-up, pitting two Bahamians up against each other in the NCAA Sweet 16 for men for the first time.
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