66ers Hold on to Beat Stampede
January 26, 2014 - NBA G League (G League)
Tulsa 66ers News Release
TULSA, Okla. - Four Tulsa players recorded double-doubles as the Tulsa 66ers held off the Idaho Stampede, 131-128, on Saturday night at the SpiritBank Event Center.
Reggie Williams led the 66ers with 30 points, 10 boards and five assists on 12-for-23 shooting. He was joined by Maurice Sutton (16 points, 15 rebounds), Rodney Bartholomew (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Ron Anderson (14 points, 11 rebounds) in scoring double-digit points and pulling down double-digit rebounds.
Mario Little added 24 points and Mustafa Shakur posted 19 points, four rebounds and six assists in his first game since joining the 66ers.
Tulsa (8-16) held a 109-92 lead with seven and half minutes remaining in the fourth before the Stampede (13-11) used a 30-12 run over the next six minutes to take a 122-121 lead, capped by a three pointer from Pierre Jackson at the 1:36 mark. The 66ers responded on the next possession with a three-pointer from Little to retake the lead.
After a defensive stop by the 66ers, Shakur put Tulsa up by four with just under a minute remaining on a floating jumper from five feet out. Idaho found Reggie Hearn for a three-pointer on the other end to pull within one.
With time ticking down on the shot clock, Little missed a baseline jumper, hitting the side of the rim. Sutton immediately jumped for the rebound and dunked the ball in one motion to make it 128-125 with 19.2 on the clock. The Tulsa defense held on in the final seconds to give the 66ers the win.
After falling short in the final minutes of Friday's 102-99 loss to Santa Cruz, 66ers Head Coach Darko Rajakovic emphasized to his team the importance of adjusting in late-game situations. Finding themselves in another close game on Saturday, Tulsa was able to make the proper adjustments and hold on.
"When we met for film this morning the main thing we talked about was needing to adjust," said Rajakovic. "I think the whole team responded well and we had great play off of our bench. I saw that our guys were determined to win this game tonight. We found a way to stay in the game and get the win."
Pierre Jackson led the Stampede with 46 points, accompanied by 30 points from EJ Singler.
Tulsa won the rebounding margin 57 to 46, grabbing over 52 boards for the third-consecutive game. The 66ers have combined for 168 rebounds in that stretch.
The 66ers also scored 128 or more points for the second time in three games. Tulsa's 131 points in Saturday's win are the second most in franchise history.
Tulsa plays its next four games in the state of Texas, beginning on Monday night in Hidalgo against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The contest can be seen live on YouTube and Tulsa66ers.com.
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