Brunswick, Georgia, was the second stop on this three-game road trip for the University of the Virgin Islands men and women basketball teams as they battled the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia on Sunday afternoon.
College of Coastal Georgia 67 – University of the Virgin Islands 66
The University of the Virgin Islands Buccaneers let one get away on Sunday afternoon as they lost a heart breaker to the College of Coastal Georgia by one point 67-66. The Mariners lead most of the way in this game, enjoying an 18-point lead with 5:53 left to go in the first half. The Bucs kept chipping away at the lead until they found themselves down by only one point with under a minute to go in the game. UVI’s Jaren Johnson came up with a timely steal, raced down to the other end of the court, and converted the layup, giving the Buccaneers a one-point lead with under 30 seconds left in the game. The Mariners had an opportunity to regain the lead, but Senior Guard Kenny Brown missed his shot, and the Bucs collected one of their 53 rebounds. UVI’s Jamal Norris was fouled, sending him to the charity stripe. He made one of two free throws giving the Bucs a two-point lead with under five seconds left in regulation. That was all the time Brown needed as he navigated through the Bucs defense and launched a deep three-pointer that hit its target, sinking the Bucs hopes of collecting their third win of the season.
Brown led the College of Coastal Georgia with 17 points. Chris Williams came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points for the Bucs. LiWayne Richardson registered 15 points and hauled in a game-high 17 rebounds.
College of Coastal Georgia 69 – University of the Virgin Islands 64
The Lady Buccaneers came out shooting blanks as they only made four baskets in the opening quarter of their 69-64 loss to the College of Coastal Georgia Mariners. UVI women were more accurate with their shots in the second quarter, shooting 54% from the field. But, the Lady Mariners fought admirably, taking a 40–31 lead into halftime. The Mariner’s Sophomore Guard Kaliyah Little dropped nine of her 17 points in the third quarter, helping Coastal Georgia push the lead out to as many as 13 points which proved to be insurmountable for the Lady Buccaneers. The Bucs Kaeani Berry and Amber Appiah-Kubi led the Bucs’ offensive attack with 13 points each. Kashay Bass came off the bench to contribute 11 points. SaQuira Porter scored a game-high 19 points for Coastal Georgia.
The Bucs end this road trip with a visit to Truett McConnell University Bears in Cleveland, Georgia. The Lady Bears (6-5) will host the Lady Buccaneers (6-4) at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST), and the Buccaneers (2-9) will face the Bears of Truett McConnell University (7-4) at 8:30 p.m. AST.