Cartersville escapes the Storm, 117-115
May 30, 2006 - World Basketball Association (WBA)
Cartersville Warriors News Release
Cartersville, GA - The foundation is settling. The product is entertaining and winning. Now the only thing the Cartersville Warriors are missing is a throng of rabid fans to enjoy professional basketball.
Saturday night, the Warriors improved their World Basketball Association record to 8-3 by dumping the Marietta Storm, 117-115, before a enthusiastic gathering at Cass High School.
The Warriors, who relocated to Cartersville from Griffin just after the start of the season, have seemingly found a home that suits them fine. They have yet to lose a game in Cartersville, going 4-0 including a forfeit victory over Gainesville that began the home winning streak back on April 30.
The Warriors are currently in the midst of a four-game homestand that will resume June 2 against Anderson at the Aubrey Street Gym
"I think we're liking our new home," said Cartersville head coach/ general manager David Archer Jr. "We've had to do a lot of juggling, but we like it here. We like playing at home and we're winning at home."
This time, the Warriors came back to win a contest that at one point appeared to headed towards being a rout. After beginning the game missing their first four shots and falling behind 7-3, the Warriors turned a 36-35 first quarter advantage into a 69-57 lead at intermission.
In a bizarre scene, the final 4.9 seconds of the second quarter were replayed after the teams returned from the locker room. During the break, officials looked at a video tape and concluded that a three-point goal by Cartersville's Mike Dean (6'2''-G-82, college: Middle Tenn.St.) was no good because a referee had blown a whistle to stop play to talk with Marietta head coach Lionel Garrett. Dean's shot had given Cartersville a 71-57 advantage.
At the resumption of play, Dean missed a three-point shot but Ron Dokes (6'9''-C-81) of Cartersville Warriors (14 points, 10 rebounds) got the rebound and scored on a put-back to make it 69-57. The Warriors actually built an 18 point lead mid-way through the third quarter, but the disruptions of play hurt the Warriors as the Storm (5-6) rallied to reduce the lead to 95-89 entering the fourth quarter. Marietta continued its roll into the 4th quarter. Anthony Wilkins (6'7''-G-80) of Marietta Storm drilled consective treys to put a stamp on a 10-1 run to begin the quarter and give his team a 99-96 lead, its first since very early in the game. But, the Warriors battled back to tie.
The lead changed hands repeatedly the rest of the way. Marietta's Jamario Moon canned a three to put the Storm up by two with 109-107 with 2:20 left, but Bobby Brown answered with long bomb to put Cartersville back in front. Then Brown broke free for dunks on consecutive turnovers by Marietta, which gave the Warriors a 114-109 lead. Daryl Dorsey hit a runner in the lane, drew a foul and brought the Storm to with in two, but Marietta was then forced to foul. Mike Dean hit 3 of 4 from the line down the stretch to keep Marietta at bey. Down 117-113, Marietta's Daryl Dorsey drove the lane and connected on another lay-in with 4 seconds remaining. On the inbounds, Cartersville's Ron Dokes mishandled the ball and was called for a violation, giving the ball back to Marietta. Anthony Wilkins had a great look from the right wing, but could not drop the 3-point buzzer attempt, allowing the Warriors to espape with the win.
Marietta was paced by Daryl Dorsey, who downed 23 points in the second half on his way to a game-high 32. Wilkins followed with 31 for Marietta, while Mike Benton downed 11. Sly Morgan had five points and 12 rebounds for the Storm.
For Cartersville, Mike Dean led the way again with 21 points, including a cool 10 of 12 from the freethrow line. Bobby Brown finished with 16, Delvin Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Ron Dokes got 14 points and 10 boards. Antoine Broxsie had another huge night with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks. Rey Luque collected nine, Leroy Davis and Latece Williams each had eight, while Dale Miller debuted with five. Anthony Slater had four points, nine assists, while Darius Wade and Anthony Witherspoon rounded the scoring for Cartersville with four and three, respectively.
Cartersville will host the Anderson Heat on Friday night June 2 at JH Morgan Gym, before the Mississippi HardHats then come to town on Saturday night for a 7pm tilt at Cass High School. The Warriors are 2-0 on the season versus the Heat, but have yet to face off against the the HardHats, the WBA's only remaining unbeaten team.
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World Basketball Association Stories from May 30, 2006
- Marietta Storm (WBA) and Big Boi present the purple ribbon all-stars - WBA
- WBA hires Chris Terrell as Director of Basketball Operations - WBA
- Warriors add former WBA all-star Dale Miller - Cartersville Warriors
- Warriors and Storm go down to the wire in Cartersville - WBA
- Anderson Heat make roster changes - Anderson Heat
- Cartersville escapes the Storm, 117-115 - Cartersville Warriors
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