Home|Sports|Mingoes upset one of the top teams in the NPBASports

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailMarch 1, 2023 181 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The University of The Bahamas (UB) Mingoes men’s basketball team started off slowly against one of the top teams in the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) at the A.F. Adderley Gymnasium on Saturday night, but recovered and proved the adage of ‘it’s how you finish that matters’ to be true. 

The Mingoes trailed Sand Dollar, 14-4, with 2:57 to go in the first quarter, but came back to pick up one of the team’s biggest wins of the season, prevailing 68-58 over the second place Sand Dollar team. Sand Dollar leads the John Archer Division with an 8-2 win/loss record following the loss, and is second overall behind the Discount Distributor Liquor Rockets who are an unblemished 10-0. They lead the Vince Ferguson Division.

Erquantae Edgecombe led the Mingoes with 28 points and five rebounds. Justin Burrows contributed 13 points, seven steals and six rebounds and Ricardo Taylor Jr. posted 11 points.

“The shots were falling for us here tonight,” Edgecombe said. “We had a lot of inside shots that connected. We need those shots to drop. The game plan was to come out defensively with a lot of communication and talk with intensity, especially coming from an international tour and using that experience here in the league.”

Edgecombe scored 15 points, including three three-pointers, in the second quarter to help the Mingoes even the score at 25 at the half.

In the third quarter, Edgecombe and Ricardo Taylor Jr. combined for 17 points to push the Mingoes ahead 53-40.

The Mingoes were able to hold off a late surge from Sand Dollar to pick up the 68-58 win.

The Mingoes had 36 points in the paint and 24 points off fast breaks.

Delano Armbrister and Theodore Grant each contributed four assists for the Mingoes.

A big statistic for the Mingoes was turnovers and points off turnovers. The Mingoes forced 29 turnovers and were able to covert those turnovers into 32 points.

The Mingoes now hold firm in the third spot in the Vince Ferguson Division with a 5-5 record. Sand Dollar still leads the John Archer Division with an 8-2 record.

The Mingoes are expected to play Zulu Media Marketing on Friday at 7 p.m. at the A.F. Adderley Gymnasium.