NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – St Vincent and the Grenadines broke their three-match losing skid when they edged Cayman Islands 72-70 to post their first win of the Caribbean Basketball Championships here Tuesday.
They overturned a two-point deficit at the start of the final quarter and outscored Cayman 28-24, to snatch a narrow victory at the Kendall Isaacs Gymnasium.
They were led by Randolph Williams who had a big game, pouring in 29 points, notching six steals and grabbing five rebounds to lead the Vincentian charge.
He was supported by Lezlo McKenzie who chipped in with 19 points nine rebounds and five steals.
For Cayman, Jorge Ebanks scored 17 points and hauled in nine rebounds and five steals while Samuel O’Garro scored 16 points. Deandre Simpson netted 10 points and posted 11 rebounds.
SVG led 16-15 at the end of the first quarter and had extended their advantage to 31-26 at the half-time whistle.
However, Cayman dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Vincentians 20-13 to snatch a slim 46-44 lead at the start of the fourth.
SVG then rallied well down the stretch to get the better of the closing stages and come away with an important win.
Guyana, however, continued their losing slide when they fell to their third straight loss with a 111-51 crushing by the British Virgin Islands.
Shane Webster led all scorers with 25 points but he could not stop the BVI from storming to a comfortable victory that was set up by a blow-out opening quarter.
Aaron Brown led the BVI with 21 points while Ivan Aska put up 18 points along with nine rebounds.
The Bahamas, meanwhile, rattled off their fourth straight victory when they dismissed the British Virgin Islands 80-61.
The hosts were driven by an all-round effort. Mitchell Johnson scored 14 points, Jamal Douglas knocked down 13 points and Jaraun Burrows got 12 points and 10 rebounds.
For the losers, Randy George scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.