Legends Square off in USBL Title Game
June 29, 2003 - United States Basketball League (USBL) News Release
DODGE CITY, KS â The United States Basketball League, Inc. (USBL) again had two Semi-Final matchups that will be talked about for years to come. This sets up a championship game pitting the Dodge City Legend and coach Cliff Levingston against the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs and coach Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins.
PENNSYLVANIA 106 â WESTCHESTER 104
The game got off to a fast start with Pennsylvania jumping out to a 31-27 lead. Greg Stevenson had the hot hand for the Wildfire, as did Ace Custis for the ValleyDawgs. As the teams moved on to the second quarter, the pace stayed the same with Westchester winning the quarter (20-19) but still down 3 after the first half.
Ronnie Fields came out on fire for the ValleyDawgs scoring 13 points in the quarter as they increased their lead to seven after three quarters. Vonteego Cummings had 16 points and was making all the plays a veteran point guard should for the Wildfire.
The fourth quarter was a battle and came down to the final seconds. The Wildfire climbed back into the game and trailed by only two with 10 seconds left. The Wildfire got a wide open look from three from Reggie Jessie that rattled out but a loose ball foul put USBL All-Time Leading scorer Kwan Johnson at the line with a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately for Johnson he missed the first free throw. In a bit of strategy, Johnson missed the second on purpose but teammate Kris Hunter came up huge with an offensive rebound with 4 seconds left on the clock. He fired a pass to a wide-open Vonteego Cummings whose shot was long and off the mark at the buzzer. With that the ValleyDawgs escaped with a 106-104 victory.
High scorer for the Wildfire was Vonteego Cummings with 26 points and 10 assists. Johnson had 19 points and Greg Stevenson chipped in with 13. Kris Hunter pulled down a team high 13 rebounds. Ronnie Fields led the way for the ValleyDawgs with 26 points. Ace Custis had 22 points and 8 rebounds. Olden Polynice had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the victorious ValleyDawgs.
DODGE CITY 106 â OKLAHOMA 100 OT
In a game that almost got away from the host Dodge City, they escaped with a 106-100 victory in overtime. Dodge City came out of the gate with a 28-22 lead after the first period and increased that lead to nine 54-45 after the first half. Albert Mouring had 20 points at the half to lead all scorers.
The second half was not kind to the host Legend as Jai "The Human Pogo Stick" Pradia put on a high flying exhibition that rivaled the Blue Angels. Pradia flew through the air with an assortment dunks and blocked shots the wowed the crowd. On more than one occasion Pradia came out of no place and sent a Legend shot back into the stands or had to duck his head, so he didn't hit his head on the rim as he powered down Storm misses. After the third period the Storm clawed their way back and was only down one after three periods of play.
In a hotly contested fourth quarter, the Legend slowly built a seven-point lead with only 24.8 seconds left, but then the real fun began. After a Rob Dye turnover, Tim Kisner stroked a three-point field goal to put the Storm down by four. A quick foul sent Antonio Smith to the line where he hit one of two. After a timeout, the Storm found James Penny in the corner with another three and the Storm trailed by two with only five seconds left. A foul put Darrin Hancock on the line and he made one of two to put the Legend up three with four seconds left. Then the improbable happened. Lamont Turner, who made only three three point field goals all season long, banked a thirty foot jumper to tie the ball game with 1.1 seconds left in regulation. An Artie Griffin jumper was off the mark and the game was tied 99-99 in regulation.
In the overtime the Legend jumped out to a four-point lead, while clamping down on defense. The Legend would hold the Storm to one point in the extra session and they would pull out a 106-100 victory in front of their hometown fans. Albert Mouring led all scores with 29 points. Darin Hancock led the way for the Legend with 25 points and 10 rebounds. James Penny and Lamont Turner each had 22 points for the Storm and Cypheus Bunton had another workman like performance with 14 points and 11 rebounds in a losing cause. Shawn Daniels and Lazarus Sims each had 17 points with Daniels also pulling down 11 rebounds for the Legend. Antonio Smith was also a leader for the Legend with a game high 15 rebounds.
United States Basketball League Stories from June 29, 2003
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