By Rawle Toney in Barbados

DESPITE a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds from Anthony Moe, Guyana went down 76-93 to Barbados in game one of the three-game series at the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium on Friday evening.

Playing in front of a vociferous crowd at the Island’s premier indoor facility, Barbados, led by captain and point guard Jeremy Gill who finished the night with a game-high 22 points, were simply better than Guyana in every department, especially from the free-throw line, where they scored 30 of their 39 attempts, as compared to the Guyanese men’s 13 from 24.

The game started with the Junior Hercules-coached Guyana team scoring the opening basket through forward Harlod Adams, but Barbados, behind Gill and Saeed Norville (12), ballooned the score 23-19 at the end of the quarter.
In the second period, Moe had his way with the Barbados defence and, along with Adams, kept Guyana in the game after Barbados made a run to close the half with an 11-point lead (44 – 33).

Moe had gotten into foul trouble, including picking up a technical from referee Jennifer Hackett for his continuous outburst, since he felt the whistles were one-sided in favour of the home team.
Barbados kept their feet on the pedal with Charles Vanderpool scoring most of his 14 points in the third quarter and along with Keefe Birkett (10) saw the home side close with a 69-58 lead in the third-quarter.

Stanton Rose, the 18-year-old captain, had a timid first half but returned with a productive second half, scoring all of his six points, five steals and five assists. His inclusive play on the floor sparked a good run for Guyana, bringing the team within four points .
Rose, Moe, Adams, Orlan Glasgow (7) and Shaine Webster (13), Travis Burnett (9) tried to bring Guyana back into the game, but things took a turn when Guyana lost their primary scorer (Moe) as he was fouled out.

Adams and Burnett were also fouled out, but at the time, the game was already out of reach. Hercules and his troops were back in action last evening and will close their three-game series tonight.

Both Guyana and Barbados are using the series as preparation for the June 24-30 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships.

At the CBC tournament in Suriname, the Guyana Men are in Group A, with hosts and rivals Suriname, St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines while Group B comprises Barbados, Bermuda, Antigua & Barbuda, Haiti and Montserrat.