Bahamians shine in season openers

Bahamians shine in season openers
This combination of photos shows, from left, Radshad Davis, Kai Jones and Franco Miller Jr

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A trio of Bahamian collegiate basketball players shined bright for their respective teams last night as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2020-21 season got underway.

In the Big 12, Kai Jones and the No. 19 ranked Texas Longhorns knocked off the Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 91-55 in a wire-to-wire win. Jones had 14 points and eight rebounds in the first game of his sophomore season. The 6’11” forward averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season, but is expected to have a greater role on the floor this season for the Longhorns. Texas will be back on the hardwood on Monday when they take on the Davidson Wildcats at 12pm.

In the Sun Belt Conference, Radshad Davis had 15 points for the Florida International Panthers in an 85-81 win over the Flagler Saints. Davis shot 5 of 12 from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds and three steals. The Panthers will take on Flagler again tomorrow in the second game of a doubleheader.

And in Atlantic Sun Conference play, Franco Miller Jr had nine points in a win for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in a 65-56 win over the Florida A&M Rattlers. He also had three rebounds and one assist.

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.