Cartersville ready for a three-game weekend
June 11, 2009 - World Basketball Association (WBA)
Cartersville Warriors News Release
The Cartersville Warriors are back in action this weekend, with three games in as many days starting Friday night in Decatur against the defending World Basketball Association champion Court Kings.
Friday's 7 p.m. game is followed by a Saturday home matchup against the Tupelo Rock-N-Rollers at J.H. Morgan Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Cartersville steps out of the World Basketball Association for its final contest this weekend, hosting the Southeast Exposure Basketball League member Atlanta SpeedBoys Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Cartersville head coach Cory Baldwin said this weekend's games are important as the WBA season reaches its halfway point.
"After this weekend, we'll know not just where we stand, but what we've got to do to get where we want to be," said Baldwin. "We need to win both league games to stay in the running for a league title. If we go 1-1 in the league games, then we start looking at finishing second or third in the league. If we lose both games, we'll be in a really deep hole."
First up is a rematch with the Court Kings (2-2), who snuck past Cartersville 76-75 at J.H. Morgan Gymnasium June 7. The Warriors led at halftime in that game, but scored just nine points in the third quarter and made several mistakes down the stretch to allow Decatur to escape with a win.
"I couldn't ask for any better team for us to play next," said Baldwin earlier this week. "I don't think I'm going to have to make any pep talks to get them fired up. We've also been a good road team this season and hopefully we can keep that going."
After going to Decatur Friday, the Warriors come home to face Tupelo (3-1), which is tied with Cartersville for second in the WBA standings behind the Buford Majic (5-0). Tupelo plays at Buford Friday before taking on the Warriors Saturday, making the matchup at J.H. Morgan all that much more important in determining the seedings for the playoffs.
Cartersville closes its weekend with a game that may not be against a WBA opponent, but still looks to be a tough one. The Atlanta SpeedBoys are the defending Metro-A League champions in the SEBL and talent on their roster is as good, if not better, than some of the franchises in the WBA.
"(Cartersville owner David Archer) is one of the few league owners who schedules non-conference games, but I like that he does it," said Baldwin. "Playing teams like the SpeedBoys keeps us sharp and they'll do some things differently than other teams we face, so that will make us better down the road."
Several things in the Warriors' favor this weekend will be the return from injury of starters Bobby Brown (knee) and Justin Billingslea (food poison) and the acquisition of veteran guard Jermaine Spivey, who was picked up from Rome in a trade late Monday night.
"It's not only good that we have all of those guys ready to go this weekend, but it's a necessity," said Baldwin. "(Brown) has looked good in practice the last couple of days and Justin was ready to go by Wednesday.
"Jermaine is such a veteran presence for our team. It's such a pleasure to see a guy like him jump in and look like he's been with us for two or three weeks even though he's only practiced with us once or twice."
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World Basketball Association Stories from June 11, 2009
- Cartersville ready for a three-game weekend - Cartersville Warriors
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