Jamaica Defeats Barbados to Advance at CBC
Jul 03 | Men's Basketball
TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands - Rutgers rising junior guard Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) played a team-high 32 minutes, posting five points and dishing-out three assists, to help Jamaica to a 96-74 victory over Barbados Thursday evening at the Caribbean Basketball Championships. With the victory, Jamaica improves to 2-1 at the Championships and advances to play Cuba on Friday.
Jamaica jumped-out to a 25-20 first quarter lead before entering the locker room at the midpoint with a 47-35 advantage. Jamaica reeled off 28 points in the third stanza to enter the homestretch with a comfortable 20-point lead (75-55).
Five players scored in double figures for the second consecutive game for Jamaica. Andre Smith led the way with 18 points, followed by Kimani Ffiend (16) and Damion Staple (15).
Jamaica finished in second place in Group A preliminary round play behind Trinidad & Tobago (3-0). A victory over Cuba and Jamaica will advance directly to the Centrobasket Tournament. A defeat to Cuba will result in a Jamaica meeting the loser of the other semifinal, Trinidad & Tobago versus the British Virgin Islands, for the bronze and final advancement berth.
