… go down 80-69 to Barbados

RAVENS point guard Ryan Stephney tried to pull the rabbit out of the hat like a magician but it was too late and not even Harry Houdini could have helped Guyana as they fell 80-69 to Barbados in an entertaining clash.

Both teams were chasing their first win of the tournament after falling to the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands in their opening games, which made yesterday’s game even more intriguing.
Guyana allowed Barbados Keefe Birkett to do as he pleased and the point guard sniper-like-shooting was well on point, hitting six three-pointers in the first half on his way to scoring 24 of his game-high 28 points in the half and allowed Barbados to close 53-28.
First quarter, Guyana were outscored 26 to 11 and allowed the ‘Bajans’ to score 27 points in the second quarter while they mustered only 17.
But along came Stephney – the magician – in the second half as the point guard’s all-round performance energised the Guyanese unit.
At first, it was captain Rawle Marshall who finished the game with 21 points (5rbs, 5 asst), who was carrying the burden of scoring for Guyana, but then Stephney let loose some of his tricks on the Barbados defence fof which they really had no answer.
Stephney shot 70% from the field; hitting seven of his ten attempts on his way to scoring 14 second-half points. He dished out three crucial assists in the process.
A lot of basketball fans who were following the game both at the arena and via stream were puzzled of coach Mark Agard and his assistant Kevin Joseph’s decision to keep taking Stephney out the game just as he made a run, to insert Colts point guard Shelroy Thomas. It was clear that the stage was bigger than he and was a target for the ‘Bajan’ defenders.
Akeem Kanhai was a nuisance on defence during Guyana’s second-half rampage, picking up four steals and throwing down a thunderous one-handed dunk which brought the crowd to their feet. Kanhai nicknamed ‘The Dream’ also hauled in seven rebounds and handed out three assists.
Guyana did much better in protecting their basket and it showed in the game’s stats sheet where they allowed only 26 points in their ‘key’ while scoring 34 in Barbados’ area. Andrew Ifill shot well in the first half but was miserable from the second and finished the night with 12 points and seven rebounds.
With 2:36 remaining in the game, Guyana was down by just six points (73-67) and a victory was in sight until turnovers, missed free throws and mismanagement of the game factored in.
Guyana, though outplaying Barbados in the second half, fell just short and seemed out of steam or their secret magic portion, to climb that last hurdle as they finished their group winless. As a matter of fact, Guyana are the only team at the championship who have so far, failed to secure a victory.
The Guyanese now only have pride to play for when they face St Vincent and the Grenadines today at 16:30 hrs.

(By Rawle Toney)