minorleagueball
07-10-2005, 03:54 PM
Knights are champs
Bill Broderick
The Enquirer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Ben Reed (33) of the Battle Creek Knights goes over Dayton“s Michael Brownlee (23) for a layup on Saturday night during the IBL championship game at Kellogg Arena. Reed is a former Battle Creek Central High and Western Michigan University standout.
Doug Allen/The Enquirer
The Battle Creek Knights“ Rickey Willis (32) has to apply a lot of leverage to get around Dayton“s Malcolm Fields (21) during first-half action in the IBL championship game on Saturday night at Kellogg Arena.
Doug Allen/The Enquirer
The B.C. Knights“ Jamal Gooding (45) gets ready to take a shot during Saturday night“s IBL championship contest against Dayton at Kellogg Arena.
The perfect season had a perfect ending as the Battle Creek Knights defeated Dayton in the International Basketball League championship.
Battle Creek earned a dramatic 124-121 victory over the Dayton Jets in front of 1,854 at Kellogg Arena on Saturday in what was the inaugural championship game for the first-year league.
Battle Creek, which came into the game as the lone undefeated team in the IBL, finished the championship game the same way as head coach Greg Williams, along with co-owners Scott Niecko, James King and Mike Lee were handed the trophy at midcourt at Kellogg Arena.
"This was a great win for you great fans of Battle Creek by our 21-0 Battle Creek Knights," King said.
Dayton finishes the season at 15-2.
The undefeated season had a life of its own during the season as Battle Creek withstood each challenge, but it wasn't something anyone saw coming as the first-year franchise tried to put the team together in the early stages of the season.
"We talked before the season of trying to paint a masterpiece as you try to put a team together," Williams said. "Well, tonight, I think we put the signature on that masterpiece."
The final strokes of the championship masterpiece didn't come together until the final minutes of the contest.
Battle Creek trailed much of the fourth quarter until Knights' point guard Robby Collum hit a jumper with 1:20 left to tie the game at 119.
A few seconds later, Collum stole the ball near midcourt and went to the basket before being fouled hard by a desperate Jets defender.
Collum's two free throws gave the Knights a lead they would never relinquish at 121-119 with 1:04 remaining.
With :16 remaining on the clock Collum would score the final point of the game on a free throw to make it 124-121.
The Jets had a few shots at the basket, but nothing would go down as the buzzer sounded on the initial IBL season as the Knights finished as ch amps.
"It feels great to win it. This has been a first-class organization from the start and it's great to bring a championship to Battle Creek," Collum said.
In all, Collum scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.
"They were keying on Ben (Reed), Mike (Williams) and Bobby (Madison), so that left me open and I took the shots and hit them," Collum said. "I'm supposed to get everyone involved, but if they are going to leave me open I have to hit those shots.
"There was a little pressure because it's a championshp game, but you just gotta shoot the ball and play the game and give my teammates all the credit for helping me get open for those shots."
Collum, who only had four points heading into the fourth quarter, hit three big 3-pointers d uring the stretch as Dayton went into a zone defense in the final moments.
"They went to the zone, so we had to put some shooters in there," Williams said. "Robby is a very smart basketball player and he saw where the open shots were. And he hit some big shots for us tonight."
Mike Williams led the balanced Battle Creek attack with 24 points as Collum added his 20 points.
Logan VanderVelden played big for the Knights, hitting five 3-pointers in the game from his center position to score 19 points with Ben Reed getting 16, Milo Stovall 12 points and Jamal Gooding 11.
Carl Edwards had 30 points to lead Dayton with Michael Brownlee getting 27 points, including 21 in the second half.
The back and forth action and the last-second flurry made for one of the more memorable games in memory in the city of Battle Creek.
"We've played some big game around here," said Williams, who also helps coach Battle Creek Central in high school basketball. "But this game is right up there with them all."
Williams also added some perspective on the championship for the city of Battle Creek.
"We've had some great basketball teams in the city, some great programs - from Battle Creek Central to Lakeview, to Harper Creek, to Pennfield, to St. Philip. We haven't really won the big one with any of them in recent history," said Williams. "But this championship is for them and for all the people in Battle Creek."
Originally published July 10, 2005
Bill Broderick
The Enquirer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related articles:
West wins IBL All-Star game, 159-156
Doug Allen/The Enquirer
Ben Reed (33) of the Battle Creek Knights goes over Dayton“s Michael Brownlee (23) for a layup on Saturday night during the IBL championship game at Kellogg Arena. Reed is a former Battle Creek Central High and Western Michigan University standout.
Doug Allen/The Enquirer
The Battle Creek Knights“ Rickey Willis (32) has to apply a lot of leverage to get around Dayton“s Malcolm Fields (21) during first-half action in the IBL championship game on Saturday night at Kellogg Arena.
Doug Allen/The Enquirer
The B.C. Knights“ Jamal Gooding (45) gets ready to take a shot during Saturday night“s IBL championship contest against Dayton at Kellogg Arena.
The perfect season had a perfect ending as the Battle Creek Knights defeated Dayton in the International Basketball League championship.
Battle Creek earned a dramatic 124-121 victory over the Dayton Jets in front of 1,854 at Kellogg Arena on Saturday in what was the inaugural championship game for the first-year league.
Battle Creek, which came into the game as the lone undefeated team in the IBL, finished the championship game the same way as head coach Greg Williams, along with co-owners Scott Niecko, James King and Mike Lee were handed the trophy at midcourt at Kellogg Arena.
"This was a great win for you great fans of Battle Creek by our 21-0 Battle Creek Knights," King said.
Dayton finishes the season at 15-2.
The undefeated season had a life of its own during the season as Battle Creek withstood each challenge, but it wasn't something anyone saw coming as the first-year franchise tried to put the team together in the early stages of the season.
"We talked before the season of trying to paint a masterpiece as you try to put a team together," Williams said. "Well, tonight, I think we put the signature on that masterpiece."
The final strokes of the championship masterpiece didn't come together until the final minutes of the contest.
Battle Creek trailed much of the fourth quarter until Knights' point guard Robby Collum hit a jumper with 1:20 left to tie the game at 119.
A few seconds later, Collum stole the ball near midcourt and went to the basket before being fouled hard by a desperate Jets defender.
Collum's two free throws gave the Knights a lead they would never relinquish at 121-119 with 1:04 remaining.
With :16 remaining on the clock Collum would score the final point of the game on a free throw to make it 124-121.
The Jets had a few shots at the basket, but nothing would go down as the buzzer sounded on the initial IBL season as the Knights finished as ch amps.
"It feels great to win it. This has been a first-class organization from the start and it's great to bring a championship to Battle Creek," Collum said.
In all, Collum scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.
"They were keying on Ben (Reed), Mike (Williams) and Bobby (Madison), so that left me open and I took the shots and hit them," Collum said. "I'm supposed to get everyone involved, but if they are going to leave me open I have to hit those shots.
"There was a little pressure because it's a championshp game, but you just gotta shoot the ball and play the game and give my teammates all the credit for helping me get open for those shots."
Collum, who only had four points heading into the fourth quarter, hit three big 3-pointers d uring the stretch as Dayton went into a zone defense in the final moments.
"They went to the zone, so we had to put some shooters in there," Williams said. "Robby is a very smart basketball player and he saw where the open shots were. And he hit some big shots for us tonight."
Mike Williams led the balanced Battle Creek attack with 24 points as Collum added his 20 points.
Logan VanderVelden played big for the Knights, hitting five 3-pointers in the game from his center position to score 19 points with Ben Reed getting 16, Milo Stovall 12 points and Jamal Gooding 11.
Carl Edwards had 30 points to lead Dayton with Michael Brownlee getting 27 points, including 21 in the second half.
The back and forth action and the last-second flurry made for one of the more memorable games in memory in the city of Battle Creek.
"We've played some big game around here," said Williams, who also helps coach Battle Creek Central in high school basketball. "But this game is right up there with them all."
Williams also added some perspective on the championship for the city of Battle Creek.
"We've had some great basketball teams in the city, some great programs - from Battle Creek Central to Lakeview, to Harper Creek, to Pennfield, to St. Philip. We haven't really won the big one with any of them in recent history," said Williams. "But this championship is for them and for all the people in Battle Creek."
Originally published July 10, 2005