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Wizards Squeak By Jam 105-101

February 9, 2010 - NBA G League (G League)
Dakota Wizards News Release


BISMARCK, ND, February 9, 2010 - Tuesday night marked a bittersweet return to the Bismarck Civic Center for Bakersfield Jam guard Blake Ahearn. He came back to the building where he had two successful seasons as a member of the Dakota Wizards and was greeted with a warm reception from some familiar faces. Unfortunately for Ahearn, his new Bakersfield squad was on the losing end of an exciting 105-101 game that came down to the final seconds.

Bakersfield jumped out to a 26-23 lead after the first quarter despite shooting only 31.8% from the field. Their size coupled with Dakota big man Marcus Dove missing the game with an injury allowed the Jam to outrebound the Wizards 8-3 on the offensive glass in the period. Ahearn had nine points in the first on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown. The Wizards' Romel Beck and David Bell each chipped in seven points in the frame.

Dakota managed to keep the game close in the second quarter even after converting only half the number of field goals as their opponents. The Wizards shot 6-of-12 (35.3%) in the period while the Jam were 12-of-24 (50%). The Wizards got to the free throw line 15 times compared to Bakersfield's two attempts, hitting eleven of those. Maurice Baker had ten points and five assists for Dakota at the half while Ahearn's 13 points helped stake the Jam to a 52-48 lead heading into the locker room.

As they have done so many times this season, the Wizards used the second half to both build and squander a large lead. Dakota's Curtis Withers scored ten points in the final 2:44 of the third period, the last of those coming on a long 3-pointer to beat the buzzer. Withers' huge effort keyed a 20-2 run at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters to give the Wizards a 92-72 lead with 10:01 remaining in the game.

From there, Bakersfield went to work cutting into the lead. A 3-pointer from 6'11 big man Brian Butch capped an 11-0 run that saw the Jam move to within nine points. After Dakota's Beck hit two free throws to push the lead back to 13, Bakersfield went on another huge run, this one 16-5, to cut the lead to two with 29.7 seconds left. Instead of running out the clock, Dakota's Bell decided to make a move to the basket after seeing an open lane. He missed, but Renaldo Major scooped up an offensive rebound and laid in an easy basket to give the Wizards a 103-99 lead. Down two possessions, the Jam tried to score quickly on the other end of the floor. Ahearn missed a long three that Keith Brumbaugh was there to clean up and again cut the lead to two points. Needing to get the ball back, the Jam fouled Dakota's Beck. The Wizards' leading scorer calmly stepped to the line and sank two clutch free throws to ice the exciting win.

Ahearn led the Jam in scoring with 25 points. Butch had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Bakersfield. The Wizards were again led in scoring by Beck, who notched 23 points. Dakota's Baker had 14 points, eleven rebounds and eight assists, barely missing his second triple-double in three games.

These same two teams will square off in Bismarck again on Wednesday night at 7:00pm central time.

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