ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -New Mexico guard Darren Prentice, forward Roman Martinez and assistant Craig Neal sustained minor injuries when their snorkeling boat’s 60-foot mast hit a bridge and collapsed during an exhibition trip in the Bahamas.
Prentice had a gash under an eye, Martinez was cut on an ankle and Neal was struck on a knee by falling debris.
None of the injuries was serious enough to prevent the players or coach from participating in an exhibition game Tuesday.
According to an account by Prentice that was posted on New Mexico’s athletics Web site, the team decided to go snorkeling Monday during an off day from basketball. While departing, the captain sailed under a low section of the bridge in Nassau harbor.
“It ripped up part of the bow of the boat and sent everything flying,” Prentice wrote. “We were very, very lucky no one on the boat got hurt when the mast came down.”
With the mast in the water and the captain unable to steer, the boat rammed into the concrete base of another bridge before drifting out into a bay. Passengers eventually were rescued by tour boats and returned to a dock.
“It all happened very fast and it was scary,” Prentice wrote. “However, we all made it through mostly uninjured. After we got back to the docks and everyone got checked out, we decided that spending another day by the lazy river was the best idea.”
The Lobos arrived in the Bahamas last weekend for a four-game series. They are scheduled to return to Albuquerque on Friday.
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