by Barry Alleyne

in Kingston

Twenty-four hours is a short time between basketball games, but Barbados' senior men's team showed their competitive response in a huge way here yesterday, recovering from an embarrassing loss the day before to register their first win at the 18th Caricom Basketball Championships.

And it wasn't just the fact that they won. More importantly for head coach Dwight Rouse, they looked good doing it too.

Led by two-time Caribbean Most Valuable Player Andrew Alleyne, Barbados led from pillar to post in an impressive 94-52 rout of St Kitts/Nevis.

And expectedly, Rouse wasn't singing hallelujahs, fully aware their opponents are the weakest in the competition.

"We knew this team was weaker, but we were more interested in our intensity, and how we were thinking," the coach said after the match.

"We were very aggressive defensively, and our heads were in the game throughout," Rouse told the DAILY NATION.

The positive things which were non-existent against the United States Virgin Islands the day before were in full bloom against the outmatched Kittitians.

Firstly, the team's defensive intensity went up 100 per cent. After taking three minutes to settle down, they broke away from an 8-8 scoreline to lead 19-12 after the first ten-minute period.

It was all Barbados after that, and the big, but slow players from St Kitts had no answer to Barbados' transition game.

Rouse went to his version of small ball for the first time, mainly because of the absence of big-man Pearson Griffith, who was in street clothes on the bench, still resting a sore back which flared up during the first game.

Corey McDonald was introduced into the line-up and Barbados played a much faster game, which earned them easy points.

With Alleyne and Dean Browne controlling the boards and also starting the fastbreak, Barbados never took their foot off the gas pedal, though having to deal with a slight bit of foul trouble late in the first half.

By half-time, however, Barbados had turned the game into a blow-out, and led 49-20.

Alleyne, despite playing with a slightly sprained wrist, blocked four shots in the first half, whilst Browne and Kelvin Patterson-Browne also had two rejections each.

In addition, Rouse had the luxury of using his entire bench in the game, and also giving guard Peter Alleyne more time to rest his sore knee.

Swingman Henry Richards provided great intensity off the bench, and as his minutes grew, so did his confidence.

The lone player still yet to find his rhythm is overseas-based guard Michael Nurse, who again struggled from behind the arch before opting to feed his teammates instead.

Barbados did finish the match with a slight concern though, as McDonald left for a nearby hospital just before half-time with shaky teeth, the result of a cheap-shot elbow from St Kitts forward Trevor Stevens.

Rouse admitted injuries are an issue, as they prepare to face Jamaica in tonight's feature match at 9 p.m.

Griffith is expected to return, but McDonald's status is unknown, as well as Peter Alleyne's.

Alleyne finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks to lead Barbados. Dean Browne added 16 and six rebounds, Richards 15 points, and Zahir Motara 12.

Jamaica, with their home-court advantage, showed just how strong they can be the night before, plundering the same St Kitts team by more than 50 points, scoring a tournament high 144 points.

So for sure, Barbados will have their work cut out for them, as only a victory over the hosts will ensure them a place in the final four.