Bellingham Slam Holds on to First Place Going into Final Weekend

Published on June 20, 2014 under International Basketball League (IBL) News Release


With just one game last weekend, the Bellingham Slam was able to maintain its position in first place by easily defeating the Lone Star Strikers, 155-116, in the team's annual community game in Blaine. 6'3" G Morris Anderson led the Slam to their eleventh straight win with 32 points and 6'4" G Jacob Stevenson had 28, while the team as a whole set a club record with 92 points in the second half.

Friday's game in Blaine was the first of four in the span of five days for the Lone Star Strikers, who were returning to the IBL hardwood for the second straight season. Unfortunately for the team from Texas, they came up on the short end in each game. Let by 6'7" F Seamus Boxley's 29 points and 12 rebounds, the Seattle Flight took care of the Strikers on Saturday, 136-107, while Vancouver trounced them 134-99 on Sunday in their third game in three nights. 6'2" G Andre Murray finished with a season-high 46 points in that contest, while 5'11" G David Taylor put up 27 for the Strikers.

After a day of rest, the Strikers put on their best performance of the road trip on Tuesday against the Portland Chinooks, keeping it close down to the final minute before losing 121-109. 6'6" F Germain Jordan and 6'9" F Jared Cunningham combined for 80 points for the Chinooks, who improved their record to 9-5 and sit a game behind Vancouver for second place in the IBL standings.

On Tuesday, the Volcanoes survived a tough test from the Salem Sabres, winning 137-123 thanks to 43 points and 11 assists from Andre Murray. 6'9" C Franz Dorsainville scored 27 in the loss for Salem, but with the victory Vancouver was able to stay two games behind Bellingham for first and still hold a slight chance of picking up the number one seed in the playoffs should they remain perfect and Bellingham stumbles. If the Slam is victorious in either of their two games this weekend, they will clinch the top seed at next weekend's playoff tournament in Vancouver.

Seamus Boxley leads Flight to first victory and earns POTW honors

The Seattle Flight took home their first win of the season as they defeated the visiting Lone Star Strikers 136-107 on their home floor. The victory in large part, was a result of the spirited play from Seamus Boxley, who finished the contest with 29 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

Boxley's impressive effort in guiding the Flight to their first victory has earned him IBL Player of the Week honors presented by PRiNK Technologies.

After logging 25 minutes in his first outing for Seattle, and giving the top team in the IBL, the Bellingham Slam, all they could handle in a 115-106 loss, Boxley saw his playing time increase to 37 minutes, and he rewarded his coach Rob Brown for doing so. Boxley only missed three shots the entire game, shooting 10-for-12 from the field, 4-for-5 from three point range, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

The 31 year old Portland State alum (who capped off his collegiate career with Big Sky Conference MVP honors), was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NBA D-League Draft by the Tulsa 66ers following his college career. However, Boxley has made more of name for himself overseas the past three seasons.

In the last three seasons, Boxley has played professionally overseas in the Netherlands (ZZ Leiden), Austria (Redwell Gunners Oberwart), and most recently in the Ukraine (BC Goverla). Boxley was second on his team in scoring (13.3 ppg), and first in rebounding 7.8 (rpg) for BC Goverla in 2013-2014. Now, Boxley has joined the Flight and has proven his worth is just two contests.

Boxley's experience playing professionally overseas provides head coach Rob Brown, and his Seattle Flight squad, with a very valuable piece both on and off the court. Next, Boxley and the Flight will take on the extremely hot Bellingham Slam on Friday, June 20 at Skagit Valley College.

IBL in-game watch list for week 11

1. 6'2" G Andre Murray (Vancouver Volcanoes)

Murray notched his second 40 plus point game this season in his last outing, which raises his points per game average to a ridiculous 33.4 on the season. In addition to his impressive scoring average, the 2012 IBL MVP and 2013 IBL All Star is averaging 6.2 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 3.9 steals in 39 minutes.

2. 6'6" F Germain Jordan (Portland Chinooks)

Jordan has logged a double-double in 8 of 10 games this season. Coming off consecutive losses recently, Jordan stepped up with a 32 point, 14 rebound performance to help his squad earn a win. The 2013 IBL Most Improved Player is averaging 25.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists.

3. 6'9" F Jared Cunningham (Portland Chinooks)

Cunningham has scored double digits in every contest this season, and has earned a Player of the Week award as well. In eleven games for the Chinooks, Cunningham is averaging 25.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.

4. 6'3'' G Morris Anderson (Bellingham Slam)

Shooting over 50% from three point range and 61.2% from the field, Anderson is arguably the league's top shooter. Anderson is averaging 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.4 steals. Overall, the fifth year Slam veteran has been an influential member of the team.

5. 6'5" C Blake Poole (Bellingham Slam)

Poole still remains the IBL's top rebounder, and the 2013 IBL Championship Game MVP continues to rank in the top 5 of the Watch List. Poole is averaging 18.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.8 steals in 14 games.

6. 6'7'' G Tyrone White Jr. (Salem Sabres)

White Jr. continues to jump up the Watch List, and deservedly so. White Jr. is averaging 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds 3.0 assists, and 2.8 steals in 39.0 minutes. White Jr. has now situated himself second only to Andre Murray in terms of scoring overall in the league.

7. 6'9'' F Brian Morris (Vancouver Volcanoes)

Morris has had a significant impact for Vancouver this season. In his last three games for the Volcanoes, Morris has recorded a double-double and only turned the ball over once. On the season, Morris is averaging 20.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 31.0 minutes.

8. 6'5'' F Terrence Glynn (Salem Sabres)

In six games for the Sabres, Glynn is averaging a double-double and even more impressively has notched back-to-back 20 rebound games. The Western Oregon University alum is averaging 16.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 2.7 steals in 34.2 minutes.

9. 6'9'' C Franz Dorsainvill (Salem Sabres)

Dorsainvill's minutes have increased in his last two outings, and he has delivered double-doubles in each of those games. In four games, the big man is averaging 16.8 points, and 10.8 rebounds in 32 minutes.

10. 6'4'' G Jacob Stevenson (Bellingham Slam)

In 14 games, Stevenson has established a nice player efficiency rating (25.9) while helping lead the Bellingham Slam to an impressive win streak (11 games). The seven year Slam veteran will likely keep up his top-notch play as the playoffs near.

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International Basketball League Stories from June 20, 2014


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