ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team hopped on a flight to the US Virgin Islands to participate in the YES USVI Basketball Tournament and captured a, 62-52 win in the opening round against Allen University (SC). The HBCU Classic, hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands featured five other teams from the US mainland (Allen, Bloomfield, Fort Lauderdale, Virginia State and West Virginia State) and provided the teams with a chance to visit the island, experience its' culture and enrich the minds of the student-athletes. The Bears improved their record to 5-4 with the victory while the Yellow Jackets slipped to 6-4 with the setback.
Freshman guard, Starrell Hearns came off the bench to shine, netting 17 points on fifty-percent shooting from the field (7-14 FG) to go along with 3 rebounds and an assist. Despite shooting only 33.3 percent from the field, Bloomfield used 18-for-26 made freethrows to put some distance between them and the Yellow Jackets.
The Bears led by a point at halftime, 25-24 but then outscored Allen, 37-28 in the second half to claim the first-round victory. Al Fatir Connor scored 12 points (4-10 FG, 1-5 3PT, 3-4 FT) and grabbed 5 rebounds to go with 2 assists and a steal. Deavion Ellis rounded out Bloomfield's double-digit scorers with 10 points despite having a rough day shooting (1-8 FG & 1-4 3PT) the junior guard made his mark with a perfect, 7-for-7 mark at the freethrow line.
The big man in the middle, Edward Ngene, barely missed a double-double as he snagged game-high, 10 boards and swatted 8 shots to go with 7 points. Ngene continues to lead the nation in blocked shots and blocks per game. Zamorian Singleton had a solid day on the island, chipping in 9 points on 3-5 FG, 1-2 3PT and 2-2 FT.
Bloomfield moves on to the semifinal round of the tournament and will face West Virginia State University on Saturday, December 16. The match is scheduled to start at 2:15 pm at the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
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