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Sound Crown Royal, 111-95

March 4, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Strong Island Sound News Release


Selden, NY- Brian Woodward led the Strong Island Sound with 25 points as they dominated the Montreal Royal at Suffolk Community College on Saturday night, 111-95. Earning their second consecutive home victory, the Sound improved to 17-12 and topped last season's win total with six games remaining on the schedule.

Playing at a disadvantage to the much taller visiting club, the Sound took it right to them and were able to consistently score from inside the paint. Commenting on his team's success from inside, Sound head coach Dytanya Mixson stated afterwards, "They got the height, but our guys are more mobile. We have the better players on the low block."

Greg Plummer (16 points, 10 rebounds) led the way in the early going with three three-point field goals and hitting three free throws when he was fouled in the act of shooting another as the Sound led 26-17 with 2:40 left in the first quarter. The Royal went on a good run to close out the quarter, and Bobby Miller's steal and lay-up at the buzzer made the score 30-27 Sound.

In the second quarter, the Sound were able to get points in the paint with smart passing and took a 12-point lead at the 3:44 mark. Raphael Edwards (16 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) looked comfortable going strong to the hole on more than one occasion, and Aaron Williams was playing tenacious defense, creating scoring opportunities for his team. Montreal once again was able to close the gap at the end of the period and trailed at halftime, 54-45.

"We were practicing those plays (this week) with that extra pass," said Mixson. "We had a lot of chemistry and were strong on defense. Especially by our leader, Raphael (Edwards). Guys like Aaron (Williams), Brian (Woodward) and Chris (Grant) were all important tonight."

At the start of the second half, Montreal (6-20) was able to go on a 10-2 run and take a 64-62 lead with a three-point field goal by Denbruck Reid. Strong Island maintained their composure and were able to regain the lead with two rushes by Woodward, who led a fast break and scored a lay-up and had a put back bucket on a miss by Edwards.

"We were much quicker with the smaller unit out there," Woodward said. "They had to play guys like Tommie (Eddie) from 15 feet and it opened it up for us. We took too many jump shots in the first half and we stopped doing that in the second half." The Sound were also getting to the free throw line more in the second half (17 trips compared to seven) and shot 79 percent for the game from the charity stripe.

Quick passes in the paint led to Sound baskets throughout the third quarter. Unselfish play was the key, as back-door passes to a streaking teammate was instrumental in the 15-6 run the Sound had to close out the third, giving them a 79-70 advantage.

Edwards was able to hit from either the outside or by driving to the hoop, and this led to him being able to find a running Williams for a slam and a 13-point lead one minute into the fourth. The Sound opened up the fourth quarter with a 20-4 run, leading to a 99-74 lead with 6:50 left in the game. Montreal chipped away at the large lead, but was unable to get it down to single digits. The exclamation point on the victory was Miguel 'Slim' Milliem feeding Williams (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals), who grabbed the pass and went up for the jam in one motion over the 7' Montreal center, Dominic Cambrion.

Edwards commented on the team's halftime adjustments, "We were reminded of the Maryland game (on February 24) when we had a lead and came out lackadaisical. We wanted to keep the pressuring them and go to the rack."

Montreal was led by Miller (30 points) and Shawn Browne (34 points).

The Sound will look to make it three straight when they host the Quebec City Kebekwa at Suffolk Community College on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. "We have a tough one tomorrow," Edwards said. "We'll try to go undefeated the rest of the season and if Wilmington can lose two, we can take first place. One game at a time."

Tickets for Sunday's game can be purchased at the door or by visiting www.strongislandsound.com. The game can also be heard live on WBZB 98.5 FM with Dave Greenwald and Rob Hahn giving you the play-by-play.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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