Blackhawks advance with upset

March 23, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Bellevue Blackhawks News Release


Upper Marlboro, MD. The 13th-seeded Bellevue Blackhawks upset the 5th-seeded Maryland Nighthawks Tuesday night at Showplace Arena in suburban Maryland, 133-120, to win the second national semifinal game of the American Basketball Association (ABA) playoffs. Bellevue will play the Arkansas Rimrockers Saturday night in Little Rock to determine the 2004-2005 ABA champion. Arkansas defeated the Mississippi Stingers last Friday in the first national semifinal game.

Bellevue turned in another balanced performance, with four players scoring at least 20 points, and two players posting double-doubles. Former Franklin High School star point guard Jimmie Haywood scored 24 points and tallied 10 assists, while former Mt. Tahoma High School forward Dontay Harris had 26 and 11 rebounds. Former Ranier Beach High School shooting guard Tim Ellis tossed in a team-leading 27 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, and guard Lavell Brown came off the bench to chip in with 20 points. Brown, an ABA All-Star in February, returned to the Blackhawks roster after a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Former Syracuse University star Lawrence Moten paced Maryland with a spectacular 41 points, including six 3-pointers and 13 for 13 shooting from the charity stripe. Jason Williams tallied 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting and had 10 rebounds while Dennis Edwards chipped in 21 points.

Thirty-six teams played in three divisions in the ABA during the 2004-2005 regular season. Sixteen teams qualified for the post-season playoff tournament, and now two are left: Bellevue and Arkansas. Bellevue, WA is a suburb of Seattle (in case you were wondering). Coach Rich Turner stated, "Our travel the last month has been amazing going from the Northwest to Texas, Arkansas, Maryland - and back. We're travel weary, but we're well seasoned and are ready to give the Arkansas Rimrockers a very competitive game. And as they say, it's not over till the fat lady sings." For more information, contact Michael Tuckman at 206 786 3846 or visit www.blackhawkshoops.com or www.abalive.com..

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.



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