The University of The Bahamas (UB) Mingoes men's basketball team suffered a loss to the Leno Regulators, 76-63, in an inconsequential New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) game Saturday night at the A.F. Adderley Gymnasium.
Erquantae Edgecombe led the Mingoes with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Gabriel Styles added 11 in a game that didn't have any impact on either team's position in the standings as the regular season came to a close.
Zachery Pennerman scored 24 points for the Regulators and Kemsy Sylvestre, a former UB player, added 23.
The Mingoes started the game off strong, going up 6-0 early in the first quarter. That run was capped by a Justin Burrows' layup assisted by Delano Armbrister. The Regulators tied the game at 6-6 and ended the quarter up, 18-14.
The Regulators held the lead for the rest of the game. The Mingoes got to within three points with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter, but couldn't complete the comeback. Off a defensive rebound, Armbrister had a brilliant pass to Edgecombe that resulted in a layup to put the score at 62-59. The Regulators then went on a 9-0 scoring run and ended the game winning, 76-63.
"We were right there with five minutes to go but we couldn't seem to string together enough buckets in order to take the lead," said UB Head Coach Bacchus Rolle. "We didn't get the defensive stops that we wanted to. The Regulators are a tough team and played really good out there tonight. We just didn't make the stops when we needed to."
Despite winning the rebounding battle, 58 to 51, the Mingoes couldn't convert them into points like they would have wanted to.
The Mingoes now move on to play the Caro Contractors Shockers in the first round of the playoffs. The first game is set for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. and the second game is set for Saturday March 18 at 7 p.m. Both games will be played at the A.F. Adderley gym.
The Shockers beat the Mingoes in both meetings this season. The Shockers won 76-56 on November 26, 2022 and 67-58 on January 13, 2023.
"We aren't doing too bad for a team that was only supposed to win two games all seasons," Rolle said. "I am happy and proud of my guys for making it this far and we are going into the series optimistically. We are going to have to slow the ball down because they are a very fast team and their guards are lightening quick. We also need to try force turnovers from their big men as well."
The game Saturday night was inconsequential because both teams advanced to the playoffs, and regardless of the outcome, neither team's playoff position would have changed. The Mingoes had already secured the third spot in the Vince Fergusons Division with a 6-7 win/loss record. The Regulators had already secured the third spot in the John Archer Division with an 8-5 record.
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