Bahamian freshman VJ Edgecombe recorded a neat triple double as the Baylor Bears defeated the Sam Houston Bearcats in NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball action at Baylor’s Foster Pavilion on Tuesday.

Edgecombe recorded 13 points on 6-9 shooting, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block in 29 minutes of action as the Bears improved their record this season to 3-1 with a comprehensive 104-67 win over the Bearcats who are now 1-3 on the year.

Senior guard Jayden Nunn led the Bears in scoring with 19 points while Nicaraguan 5^th year senior forward Norchad Omier had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Lamar Wilkerson had 19 points for Sam Houston.

The Bears will next host the Tarleton State Texans on Sunday.

The Bahamas will look to move one step closer to their dream of competing in Basketball at the Paris Olympics this summer when they tackle Lebanon in the semi-finals of Olympic Basketball Qualifying Tournament 1 in Valencia, Spain on Saturday.

The other semi-final will see hosts Spain taking on Finland, who the Bahamians defeated in the group stage.

The winner of the tournament will advance to the Paris Olympics.

The Bahamians booked their spot in the final four with a 90-81 win over Poland on Wednesday.

18-year-old Valdez “VJ” Edgecombe Jr, a projected top-5 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft who has committed to Baylor University, led the way with an efficient 21 points on 13 shot attempts. He also pulled in six rebounds and had one steal and one block.

Portland Trailblazers center Deandre Ayton was also solid with 18 points and nine rebounds while Eric Gordon missed just one of his six shot attempts on his way to 12 points.

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Poland.

Lebanon booked their spot in the semis with a 74-70 win over Angola, also on Wednesday.

Former Villanova and Golden State Warriors big man Omari Spellman dominated with 22 points and 13 rebounds for Lebanon and will need to be given extra attention by the Bahamians on Saturday.

The Bahamas opened up their Olympic Basketball Qualifying Tournament 1 Group B campaign with a 95-86 win over Finland in Valencia, Spain on Tuesday.

The Bahamians opened up a one point (27-26) lead at the end of the first quarter before their Finnish counterparts drastically improved their play in the second period on the way to a 28-20 victory for an overall 54-47 lead at the end of the first half.

Bahamas came back into the contest with a dominant third quarter in which they doubled Finland’s production 26-13 before a 23-18 advantage in the fourth quarter secured an eleven-point victory to open their campaign.

Buddy Hield was the main scorer for the Bahamians six three pointers on his way to 24 points along with six rebounds and three assists while Villanova University-bound Valdez “VJ” Edgecombe Jr had 20 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Big man Deandre Ayton and sharpshooter Eric Gordon were also key contributors. Ayton, the Portland Trailblazers center, recorded 19 points and nine rebounds while Gordon, who recently signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, had 16 points and four assists.

The Bahamas will next play Poland on Wednesday with a win securing them a spot in the semi-finals of Olympic Qualifying Tournament 1.

In Group A play of Olympic Qualifying Tournament 1 on Wednesday, Spain hammered Lebanon 104-59.

Each Olympic Qualifying Tournament features six teams divided into two groups of three.

Each team plays each other once before the top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals.

From there, the two semi-final winners will square off for one spot at the Paris Olympic Games.