Baseline-WBA Stars Exhibition Team starts slow, bows to Shorter College 89-80
Published on October 19, 2004 under World Basketball Association (WBA) News Release
Rome, GA - October 18, 2004 -- On Monday night in Rome, the Baseline-WBA Stars struggled to get going in the first half and had to fight from behind and eventually fell victim to the Shorter Hawks 89-80.
After leading 6-4 in the opening minutes, the Stars went cold while Shorter reeled off 13 unanswered points. Shorter kept pace the rest of the first half, taking a 43-33 lead into the break.
To begin the second half, Shorter netted the first two buckets to increase their lead to 14. But, Baseline-WBA then employed a swarming zone defense that stymied Shorter and allowed the Stars to go a 20-5 run, giving the visiting Stars a 53-52 lead, its first since the early going. Baseline's Joe Montgomery drilled 3 treys in the rally. Shorter was not done though, as Casey Baxter made 2 freethrows and nailed a three point bucket to reclaim the lead. Baseline-WBA later re-knotted the score at 71 with 4:40 remaining when former Adairsville High star Marcus Henderson (201-F-81, college: Athens St.) hit a short bank shot. On the ensuing inbounds, Baseline's Jason Shaw (191-G, college: Alabama St.) stole the ball just past half court, but his pass to Bobby Brown (201-F-79, college: Kennesaw St.) (201-F-79, college: Kennesaw St.) was errant. Brown was called for a personal foul and a subsequent technical foul, after he and Shorter's Baxter both dove for the ball. Baxter connected on all 4 free shots. Then, Shorter went up 77-71 on a short jumper from the corner by former Woodland High player Jeff Croft. With time running short, Baseline-WBA was forced to foul after several missed three point attempts. Shorter was up to the task, sinking clutch free throws down the stretch, hanging on to take the win.
Shorter's Baxter, a former Calhoun High standout, led all scorers with 31, while Croft finished with 8. For Baseline-WBA, fomer Virginia Tech player Joe Hamilton (198-F, college: Virginia Tech) hit 19, former North Georgia College standout, Joe Montgomery finished with 16, while Brown had 15, Henderson 11 and Courtney Stanley 7. The Baseline-WBA team, now 21-3 over all this year and 0-1 on the fall exhibition season, will travel to Dahlonega on Tuesday evening to face off against another NAIA College opponent in North Georgia College. BaselineUSA defeated North Georgia 107-100 last season.
BASELINE-WBA STARS NOTES: Baseline-WBA Stars learned on Monday afternoon the Martinique Men's National Team from the Virgin Islands have had to postpone its scheduled tour to the US. The Stars were scheduled to play Martinique on October 24th, 25th and 27th at Stars Academy on Hwy 41 North in Cartersville. The games will try to be re-set for sometime in January, when the Martinique team plans to return. October 24th, will mark the first home date for the Baseline-WBA Stars team, as they will welcome the Fort Gillem Military Base Squad for a 3pm tip off.... Former Mercer Star, Rodney Kirtz, a 6'3" shooting guard, will re-join Baseline on Tuesday night for the game against the North Georgia College Saints. Kirtz drilled 35 points in Baseline's victory over the Saints last season. Baseline also expects 6'8" PF Dewayne Marable (203-F-77, college: Miles), who played for Raleigh of the WBA, to re-join the squad for the first time this season. Marable played with the Baseline-WBA Stars seeing action last season against Clayton State, Clark-Atlanta, Cleveland State and Miles College.
For information on the Baseline-WBA Stars Tour go to http://www.wbaball.net or htt://leaguelineup.com/sebl.
World Basketball Association Stories from October 19, 2004
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