PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas—Today is Thanksgiving.And we should all be thankful for this college basketball story out of Durham, N.C. that has its roots in this island.
Stephen F. Austin pulled off the biggest upset in the last 15 years when Nathan Bain scored on a game winning layup just before the buzzer to give his team a 85-83 overtime victory over top-ranked Duke at the Cameron Indoor Center. Since then a fundraising effort to help his family rebuild from Hurricane Dorian’s damage has taken off. A two-month old GoFundMe page had raised $91,317 and counting Thursday night, spiking from $2,000 before his miracle shot.
“I was just in disbelief at what basketball had done for my family,’’ the fifth-year senior guard told the AP by phone. “It is truly a blessing.’’
“I want them to know how much we appreciate it, and how thankful we are that we’re alive,” said his father, Norris Bain, a minister on the island, told the AP. “As bad as it is, it could have been a lot worse.”
Norris Bain said the storm left more than 10 feet of water in the family’s single-story home in Freeport, Grand Bahama, and was “totally gutted” with none of their possessions recoverable. The church he runs, the Tabernacle Baptist Church, had 5 feet of water inside and its affiliated K-12 school with an enrollment of about 800 had 4 feet of water and a hole in the roof due to the Category 5 storm that roared through the islands.
He said the roof has been fixed and enough repairs have been made to reopen the school, but among other issues, the phone system has not been fully repaired.
Dorian hammered the northern Abaco and Grand Bahama islands before giving a glancing blow to the southeastern United States. There were 67 confirmed deaths and 282 people were still missing as of late October along with $3.4 billion in losses for the Bahamas, according to a recent report
‘We just want to make sure we get the people around us taken care of at the care, at the school,’’ Nathan said. “That’s really our main focus, to make sure everyone has a place of worship and to make the school is taken care of so these kids can get a proper education.’’
Bain scored on a breakaway layup just before the overtime buzzer to give the Nacogdoches, Texas school—a 27 ½ underdog, a victory, ending the Blue Devils’ 150-game winning streak against non-conference opponents, dating back to 2000
The upset that put the spotlight on the post-Dorian relief efforts came the night before the start of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. Participants in the eight- team tournament – which includes sixth-ranked UNC and 13 ranked Seton Hall—are assisting recovery efforts, with UNC senior Brandon Robinson leading a donation drive and the Hall raising money for hurricane relief.
Meanwhile, roughly 12 hours after the game, the Lumberjacks were back in Texas distributing meals to the homeless for Thanksgiving. “We have so much that the school gives us,’’ Bain said. “
