Dakota wins third straight at home
December 14, 2006 - NBA G League (G League)
Dakota Wizards News Release
BISMARCK, ND., Dec. 14 - Coming off the bench, Dakota Wizards forward Jerome Beasley scored a game high 22 points as the Wizards defeated the Austin Toros 93-79 at the Bismarck Civic Center. The Wizards victory continued their success at home, marking their third straight home win of the season (5-1 overall) and kept the Toros winless at 0-7.
The key to the Wizards victory was their defense, forcing Austin into 26 turnovers and limiting them to 37.5% shooting from the field. In addition to their staunch defense, the Wizards dominated the middle outscoring the Toros 54-34 in the paint, led by center Justin Williams' fourth straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with his five blocks.
"It was a good win against a good team;" said Wizards coach Dave Joerger. "Our guys played well together and got the win."
Austin received a strong debut by former NBA first-round pick Jason Williams whose first game in the D-League ended with 14 points and nine assists. Although Williams was pleased with his performance, he admitted he was a little rusty committing 11 turnovers on the evening.
" I thought I played OK," said Williams after the game. "It's getting back into the grove of the game that is going to take me a bit, but I'm ready for it."
Wizards forward Renaldo Major, who entered the game tied for the league lead in steals added 5 more to his total, bringing his average up to 2.7 steals per game. Major also added 11 points, which means he has scored in double figures in all six Wizards games this season.
Tonight also marked the Bismarck debut of center Martynas Andriuskevicius, who was assigned to the Wizards earlier in the week from their NBA affiliate, the Chicago Bulls. Andriuskevicius played 17 minutes in his first appearance in with the Wizards pulling down three rebounds and scoring four points on the evening.
The Toros were lead in scoring by guard BJ Elder who scored 17 on the night and Jamar Smith who added 15.
The Wizards will host the Toros again tomorrow evening at the Bismarck Civic Center, tip off is at 7:05.
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