Three local teams got the chance to take on National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools over the weekend in the Bahamas Basketball Federation/ BTC Summer of Thunder exhibition series at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium.
Although none of the teams were able to come up with wins against the international competition, two came really close to upsetting the college clubs.
In the tournament opener on Friday night, Nicholls State edged the Bahamas All Stars 106-103, and on Saturday, Penn State University scored a 109-105 win over the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) All Stars. Nicholls State routed IBA Elite 94-73 in the other game on Saturday.
Nicholls State 106, Bahamas All Stars 103
Tevon Saddler led the way for Nicholls State 21 points on 7-16 shooting from the field. He also pulled down 15 rebounds and dished out five assists in the win.
Saddler made a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go in the game to put Nicholls State up by eight. Livingston Munnings answered on the following possession, scoring on a tip in to cut the lead back to five.
Munnings then came up with a steal on a bad pass by Roddy Peters, which led to a three-pointer by Eugene Bain to bring The Bahamas within two. However, team Bahamas went scoreless for the rest of the game. Saddler hit one of two free throws with one-minute left to seal the game.
Bain led the way for The Bahamas with 35 points and seven rebounds.
Penn State University 109, NPBA 105
Tony Carr and Shep Garner anchored the Nittany Lions' offensive attack in the win. Carr poured in 26 points, pulled down nine rebounds, handed out seven assists and came up with six steals, while Garner scored 24 points on 8-16 shooting from the field.
Salthiel Dean had 27 points and seven rebounds in the loss, and Michael Bain scored 17 points, dished out 10 assists and came up with eight steals for the NPBA All Stars.
Three-point shooting was the biggest factor in the loss. NPBA shot just 2-for-30 from long distance, compared to 15-for-33 for the Nittany Lions.
Nicholls State 106, IBA 73
Saddler came up big once again for the Colonels. Against IBA he put up 21 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in the win. Senior Lafayette Rutledge added 20 points in the win. Qyemah Gibson scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss.
Eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams will compete in exhibition games against local teams over the course of the next three weeks.
Other international teams competing include, Boston College, Southern Mississippi, Chicago State, Rhode Island and Colorado State.
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