Or so it would seem from the Bank of Butterfield Tournament at Saltus, where four of the Island's top teams took turns beating each other under a bizarre round-robin format.

In the first tournament of the year, Mount Saint Agnes were declared the winners over Whitney -- although each had 2-1 records -- while Berkeley were given the nod for third over Saltus -- although each had 1-2 records.

All this took place in under three hours on Saturday morning, thanks to 16-minute games and a clock that stopped only for free throws.

"In this kind of format, anything can happen,'' noted Mount Saint Agnes coach Brian Smith.

And anything did, with a half-dozen scrambly games and scores ranging from 22-15 (MSA over Berkeley) to 14-1 (Whitney over Saltus).

MSA defeated Whitney 14-10 in their first game and Berkeley in their second before losing to Saltus 12-9 in their last. That opening win was enough to assure MSA the title -- based on head-to-head results -- even before they tipped-off against Saltus.

Smith emptied his bench for the Saltus games and the result was just two second-half points and the team's first loss of the season. Aaron Madeiros and Joshua Nisbett had five points each for Saltus, who iced the game with a pair of free throws with 40 seconds to play.

MSA outscored Whitney 10-6 in the second half for the key win. Kevin Mooney scored seven points, Ian Kerkemeyer four and Brian Lima three for MSA, while Ian Butterfield had five points and Kyjaun Franks nailed a second-half three-pointer for Whitney.

Mooney scored nine points and Lima seven as MSA erupted for 14 points in the first half against Berkeley. A pair of second-half three-pointers contributed to John Barry Nusum's team-high ten points for Berkeley.

Whitney rebounded from the loss to limit Saltus to one first-half free-throw by Nisbett. Dave Benjamin scored six points and Javin Taylor four for the winners.

They followed up by opening a 16-4 first-half lead in a 23-8 pounding of Berkeley in the tournament-finale. Lloyd Peterkin poured in eight points, Taylor six and Butterfield five. Dennis Steede led Berkeley with four points, all from the charity stripe.

The tournament's opening game saw Eugene Watson score a basket in overtime, lifting Berkeley to a 16-14 win over Saltus. Lorenzo Lottimore had six first-half points, with Jerrell Martin and Watson tossing in four each.

Jonathan Correia had six points and Nisbett five for Saltus.