Guyana, US Youth Basketball game ends in brawl

Jul 30, 2013 Sports

-Dryden punches American for shoving him

By Edison Jefford
Maybe if Travin Dryden was aware of his ambassadorial role, first for the Christianburg/Wismar Multilateral School, which successfully defended its Digicel Schools’ Football title Sunday night and second for Guyana’s Youth Basketball team, he would have reacted differently.

The Under-17 US team pose for a photo opportunity following their blowout win against Guyana Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Instead, the talented young athlete sunk Guyana’s representative youth team into controversy in an exchange game against the United States of America at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall when he punched one of the Americans in the nose after visibly being shoved.
The incident brought a great and spectacular evening of competitive basketball to an abrupt end after a fight broke out between the Guyanese and Americans. The game was officially cancelled with 40.9 seconds left on the clock and with Guyana leading 79-49 in Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) collaborative effort with Partners in Christ.
Dryden had represented Christianburg/Wismar Multi in multiple sport disciplines, with football and basketball is superior skills. He is not known for such behavior and had recently led his side to the semi-finals of the National Schools’ Basketball Festival.
At the cancellation of the game, Nikkoloi Smith had 16 points for Guyana, while Akeem Kanhai, who entertained with a simple one-handed dunk in the final minutes of the game, shared the next best individual score for Guyana, 12 points, with Jermaine Slater.
Kyhiem Chaplin had 21 points for the Americans, who shook hands with the Guyanese after the cancellation in a show of sportsmanship. An eventual win for Guyana would have been reprieve for the Under-17 drubbing it received at the hands of the Americans.
The US side beat YBG U-17 team 76-49 in the first game. The US U-17 team played intelligent and fundamental basketball as the Guyanese players succumbed to the intense defensive pressure and superior offensive skills of the Americans.
The Guyanese had a hot start that included a number of threes.

Guyana’s Akeem Kanhai (left) goes baseline off the glass at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

However, as soon as the visitors had a good feel of the environment, it was game time; the Guyanese slowly cooled and mellowed under pressure, which led to stagnant offence eventually.
Chaplin had 18 points in the U-17 encounter while Joshua Chester had 15 points and Jovanni Moreno 14 points to help with the win. No Guyanese player reached double figures, which was testament of their offensive meltdown.