The University of the Virgin Islands Buccaneers won two out of three games over the weekend in Puerto Rico and clinched a playoff berth in the Organizacion Deportiva Interuniversitaria conference.
The Bucs won the first game 87-79 on Friday over Politecnica, then they lost a nail-biter 80-78 to the University of Puerto Rico, Ponce on Saturday afternoon. However, the Bucs took out their frustrations in blowing out the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla 95-50 in the evening game.
The Bucs got of to a slow start in the first game. The game was tied after the first and second quarters. The Bucs took control of the offense early in the third quarter with a 10-0 run. Politecnica came back to cut the lead to four points by the end of the quarter.
The Bucs once again came out strong in the fourth quarter. They scored quickly and early and were never threatened again as they cruised to victory.
Armando Rodriquez led Politecnica with 21 points. The Bucs were led by John St. Luce and Raheem Smith who had 22 and 20 points respectively.
On Saturday, the Bucs played sluggishly and allowed Ponce's Paul Rivera to light up the scoreboard with 26 points in their first game of the day.
The Bucs came back to tie the game in the last minutes. However, Pedro Ortiz made a game-winning basket with one second left on the clock to seal the victory for Ponce.
Kwesi Howard led the Bucs with 20 points. His teammate Kevin Abbott added 16 points, while Dashell Freeman and Bertrum Foster each contributed 13 points.
In the final game of the weekend, the Bucs played without much passion after learning that they had already clinched a playoff spot. Still, UPR Aguadilla was no competition for the Bucs.
The Bucs used every player on the roster, they cleared the bench. Meanwhile, UPR Aguadilla literally could not find the basket. They missed shots without hitting the backboard.
The Bucs cruised to victory with five players scoring in double figures. Kevin John-Lewis had 18 points, Milton Connor and Abbott had 15 points a piece and Freeman and Donald Christmas each had 13 points.
The Bucs finishes the regular season with a conference record to 7-3 and overall record to 10-6. The Bucs will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday to play the first of a best of three quarter final game. Game two will be played on Saturday, March 31 at the Sports and Fitness Center.