Blackhawks upset Nighthawks, advance to ABA Championship
March 23, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Bellevue Blackhawks News Release
Upper Marlboro, MD. In the world of basketball, on any given day, when two teams meet, the winner is never decided until the final whistle blows. Such was the case when the heavily-favored Maryland Nighthawks hosted the 13th seeded Bellevue Blackhawks in the semi-final game of the ABA Championship Playoffs. With a burst of energy in the 4th quarter, the Blackhawks defeated the Nighthawks 133-120 and set up a meeting with the Arkansas RimRockers in Little Rock on Saturday night. (More details of the game to follow). According to Michael Tuckman, Blackhawks owner, "We've been improving steadily after a slow start this season. Our coach and team never felt that we were the 13th seed - and we're proving it against some very good competition. Maryland is an excellent team as was Texas - but our guys, on the road, proved that they're something special. We'll give Arkansas all they can handle on Saturday."
What makes the Blackhawks unique is that their roster consists of almost all local players, including Jimmie Haywood (Franklin High School/Oregon State), Justin Murray (Washington State), Matt Glynn (University of Puget Sound), Dontay Harris of Tacoma, Brian Dennis (Western Washington University), Jimmy Rainwater (Chief Sealth High School/University of Portland), Jujuan Winesberry (University of Washington) and Brian Bunch of Seattle. And of course, they have one of the league's best players in scoring machine, Tim Ellis. Head Coach Rick Turner is a Bellevue native and former Head Coach/Athletic Director of Bellevue Community College, Associate Head Coach Harold Wright of Washington State and Asst Coach Russ Schoene, former Seattle Sonics player and Asst Coach at University of Washington. The state of Washington should be very proud today.
The final game will be played at Alltel Arena in Little Rock on Saturday night. For more information, 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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American Basketball Association Stories from March 23, 2005
- Blackhawks advance with upset - Bellevue Blackhawks
- RimRockers to play Bellevue in championship game March 26 - Arkansas RimRockers
- Blackhawks upset Nighthawks, advance to ABA Championship - Bellevue Blackhawks
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