Home|Sports|King, Harvey see action in NCAA DI basketballSports

Simba FrenchSend an emailDecember 12, 2022 86 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

It was a tough weekend for Bahamian collegiate basketball players Frederick King and Ahmard Harvey on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball scene over the weekend. 

Taking the floor on Saturday night for the nationally number 21 ranked Creighton University Bluejays was King. The Bluejays ended up falling in a close 83-80 battle against the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The loss dropped the Bluejays to a 6-4 win/loss record on the season.

The freshman started and played for 18 minutes on the floor. He was able to come away with four points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field. He also had three blocks. 

The Bluejays started the first half hot from the field, taking a 19-11 lead, but the Cougars went up by as much as eight, 49-41, late in the first half. Four points in a row by the Bluejays at the end of the first half pulled them within four, 49-45. In the second half, the Cougars tied the game at 56 points with 15:53 left. The Cougars responded, taking an 11-point lead at 78-67 at the 3:56 mark.

The Bluejays didn’t go away. They came back and took an 80-79 lead with 26 seconds left. However, the Cougars were clutch when they needed to be, scoring the final four points of the game.

Next up for the Bluejays is a matchup against the Arizona State University Sun Devils at 9 p.m. tonight at the same arena in Las Vegas. 

Harvey and the High Point University Panthers also could not come up with a victory over the weekend as they fell 87-79 to the Queens University of Charlotte Royals on Friday night. Playing home at the Millis Center in High Point, North Carolina, the Panthers got seven points from Harvey on 3-for-3 shooting from the field, including a connection on his only attempt from deep. Like King, the redshirt junior played 18 minutes. He was able to grab six rebounds, dished out three dimes and had three blocks before fouling out.

At the 11:47 mark of the first half, Harvey made a layup that put his Panthers up 19-12. The Panthers led 44-38 at the end of the first half. The game was tied at 55 points with 12:34 left in the second half. The Royals took the lead to five points with 10:49 left in the second half. It was all Royals the rest of the way as they were dominant in the second half. 

With the loss, the Panthers dropped to an 8-2 win/loss record on the season and will look to go in the win column on Sunday, December 18 when they face the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

It is the first year on their new teams for both players as they look to adjust. King is making the transition from high school and Harvey is a transfer from Coastal Carolina University after spending three years there where he battled injuries.+