A pair of two-point victories highlighted the opening session of the 34th Annual Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic at the A.F. Adderley Gymnasium yesterday afternoon.
In the opener, the Temple Christian Suns turned back the Akhepran International Academy Mighty Scarabs, 55-53, and following that, the C.V. Bethel Stingrays turned back the St. Anne's Blue Waves, 52-50.
For the Stingrays, Head Coach Kevin Edgecombe said that it was imperative that they got off to a good start. He wasn't overly impressed with their performance yesterday, but was glad that they picked up the win in their first taste of action in the double-elimination tournament.
"Our guys are playing better, but they are still a little bit inconsistent," said Edgecombe. "We have to find a way to get them to gel better. We had some good spurts today, and we had bad spurts as well. It appears that when they listen, we make progress. When they don't, we have problems. As long as these guys continue to listen, we will continue to win."
The Stingrays led by double-digits at one point, but had to hold off a furious Blue Waves rally in the second half. The game was tied at 13 after the opening quarter, but the Stingrays surged ahead, 29-20, at the half. The Blue Waves cut into that lead, but still trailed 39-37 after three quarters. They stayed within striking distance in the fourth, but couldn't pull ahead and fell short at the end.
After the Stingrays missed a pair of free shots in the final few seconds of the game, the Blue Waves couldn't get a timeout and a half-court heave at the buzzer fell short.
Ray McDonald scored almost half of the Stingrays' points. He poured in a game-high 25 for them. Dante Sturrup had seven points and four assists, and Jesse Delancy scored six and had three rebounds.
Aaron Jordan paced the Blue Waves with 18 points and four rebounds. Aston Knowles scored a dozen, had five rebounds and four assists, and Dauran Marshall dropped in eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Both senior boys teams failed to make the playoffs in their respective leagues - the Blue Waves in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) and the Stingrays in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA).
"We've said to the guys that GSSSA is behind us, and it's time to focus on something new," said Edgecombe. "This is a new beginning for us. We've started this tournament on a high note. Hopefully, we could continue it. It's very important to get that first win under your belt. We accomplished that today, and now we are looking forward to an excellent tournament."
The Stingrays will now move on to play the Sunland Baptist Stingers on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and the Blue Waves will go into the loser's bracket and play Thursday night.
The five teams from Grand Bahama - Eight Mile Rock, Jack Hayward High, St. George's, Sunland and Tabernacle Baptist - will begin play on Wednesday.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian