Carolina-Canóvanas overcomes early deficit, upends Bayamón in final seconds.

The Gigantes of Carolina-Canóvanas trailed the Vaqueros of Bayamón by 22 points early on, but fought their way back to win by a point in the closing seconds.

Caguas defeats Guaynabo

By THE STAR STAFF

The Gigantes of Carolina-Canóvanas and the Criollos of Caguas were winners on Saturday night in a pair of National Superior Basketball (BSN by its initials in Spanish) games.

The Gigantes overcame a 22-point first-quarter deficit before topping the Vaqueros of Bayamón 77-76 at Carlos Miguel Mangual Coliseum in Canóvanas.

With the scoreboard reading 76-75 in favor of the visitors and less than three seconds remaining in the game, a floater by Jaylen Nowell sent the Carolina fans into a frenzy.

It was the second victory of the season for the eastern-based team -- and their first at home -- bringing their record to 2-3, while the Vaqueros dropped to 4-4.

The Gigantes, who had trailed 24-2 in the first quarter, never let up on their intensity; in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, they tied the score at 57 points apiece.

With the score at 57-53, Isaac Sosa drained a three-pointer while drawing a personal foul from Stephen Thompson, sending him to the free-throw line to complete a four-point play.

The defending champion Vaqueros responded with two three-pointers from Jae Crowder and Javier Mojica to retake the lead, 63-57. The home team countered with a three-pointer from Tremont Waters to narrow the gap to 63-60.

A short time later, with the score knotted at 73 and under 30 seconds remaining, the Gigantes’ Kristian Doolittle drew an offensive foul and capitalized by sinking both free throws to put Carolina up 75-73, forcing Bayamón head coach Christian Dalmau to call a timeout to draw up a final play.

That play was executed to perfection with a three-pointer from Mojica that momentarily silenced the home crowd -- until Nowell sank the game-winning basket moments later.

Nowell was the top scorer for the Gigantes with 18 points, followed by Hunter Tyson with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Doolittle contributed a double-double of his own with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Waters finished with 12 points.

In a losing effort, Mojica and Crowder led the Vaqueros with 18 points each, while Renaldo Balkman added 13.

At Roger Mendoza Coliseum in Caguas, meanwhile, the Criollos used a big second half to defeat the Mets of Guaynabo, 97-78.

The Mets led 33-22 after the first quarter, but Caguas surged in the second frame (27-17) to trail by just a point at halftime. It was all Caguas in the second half as the Criollos locked down on defense, limiting Guaynabo to 13 and 15 points in the second and third quarters, respectively.

Travis Trice was named the game’s MVP with 25 points and 9 assists for Caguas (4-2). Christian López Santiago scored 18 points off the bench, while Louis King and Moses Brown scored 14 points apiece, with Brown grabbing 12 rebounds. 

Ysmael Romero had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Guaynabo (3-4). Jaysean Paige scored 13 points in 17 minutes before exiting the game due to an injury, and Maxwell Abmas tallied 11 points and 9 rebounds.