Day 2 of the 26th edition of Basketball Travelers Inc.’s Paradise Jam brought highly competitive collegiate and high school games to the University of the Virgin Islands’ Elridge W. Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
GAME 7 – Yale 74 – College of Charleston 63
The University of Yale Bulldogs punched their ticket to the 2025 Paradise Jam Men’s Championship Game by defeating the College of Charleston 74–63. The Bulldogs’ Isaac Celiscar opened scoring, making a layup seconds into the game, giving the Bulldogs an advantage they never relinquished. Senior forward Nick Townsend was the leader of this pack of Bulldogs with 32 points and nine rebounds. Isaac Celiscar added 12 points for Yale. The College of Charleston was led by Chol Machot and Connor Hickman, who recorded 15 and 14 points, respectively.
GAME 8 – Akron 97 – Evansville 59
The University of Akron had its way with the University of Evansville as the Zips cruised to a 97-59 victory over the Purple Aces. Evansville kept the game close in the first half, only trailing by eight at intermission. The Zips stepped up their defensive pressure, causing the Aces to turn over the ball 11 times while shooting just 35% from the field. Tavari Johnson and Bowen Hardman both scored 19 points to lead the Zips’ offensive attack. Amani Lewis chipped in 17 points for Akron. Keishon Porter, AJ Casey, and Bryce Quinet all recorded 13 points each for Evansville.
The male tournament will play the final four games on Monday, Nov. 24, at the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
The schedule for Monday, Nov. 24:
Game 9 – 1:30 p.m. – University of Massachusetts vs Oregon State University
Game 10 – 4 p.m. – University of Wisconsin Green Bay vs Iona University
Game 11 – 6:30 p.m. – University of Evansville vs College of Charleston
Game 12 – 9 p.m. – Yale University vs University of Akron – championship game
