Santurce rallies to edge Carolina, takes season series

Kenneth Faried came up big in his season debut for the Cangrejeros, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in Santurce’s one-point win over Carolina in Canóvanas on Monday night.

Caguas uses late surge to bury Mayagüez

By THE STAR STAFF

The Cangrejeros of Santurce rallied to defeat the Gigantes of Carolina/Canóvanas 96-95 at Carlos Miguel Mangual Coliseum in Canóvanas on Monday night in the sixth and final National Superior Basketball (BSN by its initials in Spanish) regular-season matchup between the two teams, clinching the head-to-head series 4-2.

The teams had faced each other just two days earlier, when the Gigantes recorded an overtime victory at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Hato Rey.

With Monday’s win, the Cangrejeros improved to 16-15, while the Gigantes fell to 17-14.

The visitors dominated much of the first half and went into the break with a 52-47 lead.

Carolina rallied in the third quarter and took a 75-70 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The Cangrejeros staged their own rally in the fourth quarter, however, executing better down the stretch to clinch the road win.

In his season debut, Kenneth Faried was the standout player for the Cangrejeros, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. DJ Wilson added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Ángel Rodríguez contributed 12 points and seven assists. In total, six Santurce players finished in double figures.

Jaylen Nowell led the way for the Gigantes with 28 points. Tremont Waters added 21 points and eight assists, while Hunter Tyson contributed 21 points and seven rebounds.

In the other BSN game on the schedule, the Criollos of Caguas defeated the Indios of Mayagüez 114-86 at Roger Mendoza Coliseum in Caguas as the teams split their regular-season head-to-head series at one win apiece.

Caguas improved to 19-12, while Mayagüez fell to 11-20.

The game was closely contested during much of the first half, but the Criollos outscored the Indios by 15 in the second period to build a 49-35 halftime lead.

After the Indios cut the deficit to eight points in the third quarter, Caguas had the answers in the final 10 minutes, outscoring the visitors by 20 points to win going away.

Travis Trice led the Criollos with 17 points and 13 assists. Moses Brown recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Luis Rivera and Joshua Denton added 14 points each.

Tyrell Harrison finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Indios. Josué Erazo had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while José Placer added 12 points.