By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN their 23rd trip to the Arby’s Classic, head coach Kevin Clarke said his Tabernacle Baptist Academy Falcons continue to get the high level high school basketball talent to get them ready for the local competition in the Bahamas.

The Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s fourth-time defending boys champions got eliminated from competition after dropping their first two games played.

The Falcons lost their opener 61-54 to the tournament’s host Tennessee High Vikings on Boxing Day and 63-50 to the Daniel Boone Pioneers.

“Coming up here, there’s always going to be such great talent,” said Clarke, who was assisted by Quincy Gray and Ronald Woodside Jr.

“We played against some nationally ranked teams in two tough games, but our guys kept her composure.”

If there’s one major problem they encountered, Clarke said it’s making the adjustment from the traditional zone they are accustomed to playing in the Bahamas to really defending on man-to-man.

Clarke, who took over from former mentor and now team manager Norris Bain, said he will make the recommendation that teams concentrate more on man-to-man so that they can be better prepared when they face the teams from the United States.

• Here’s a summary of their games played in the tournament:

Vikings 61, Falcons 54: Giano Murray Murray scored a side high 11 points with a pair of rebounds and Noah Bain had 10 points with three steals, two assists and two rebounds. Aiden Miller and Joshua Williams both contributed eight points. Miller also had seven rebounds and six assists.

Tennessee High got a game high 23 points, four assists and three steals from Colin Brown and 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win.

“They are a well structured team. They run their offence the whole time. They are not going to stop so you really have to dig in and defend at a high level.

“It was a tough game. We led at halftime, but we missed some simple assignments down the stretch and we ended up losing by about four points.

“These guys can shoot the ball, so you can’t leave them open.”

Pioneers 63, Falcons 50: Noah Bain scored 19 points with three assists, Alex Minus had nine points with two steals and Aiden Bain had six points with a pair of steals and block shots.

Gavin Pearce led a balanced scoring attack for Daniel Boone with 15 points. Harry Hamlin had 13 points, Tim McGonigle had 11 and Clay Rowland 10.

“We came out flat and fell behind by about 16 points in the first quarter,” Clarke said.

“We came back in the second half to bring it back to about six. “We played so hard to dig ourselves out of the hole. It was good for us, but we should not have put ourselves in that position in the first place. We played hard, but if we did things right at the beginning, we would have been in a better position.”

Clarke, however, said they use the tournament to get ready for the start of their season in Grand Bahama in January and for the prestigious Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic in New Providence in February.