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Drive Beat Razorsharks 98-91 in Game 1, One Win from Championship

April 12, 2012 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Central Illinois Drive News Release


Rochester, NY, 4/12/12 - The Central Division Champion Central Illinois Drive, presented by Sonic, beat the RazorSharks 98-91 in Rochester Thursday night. By winning game 1 of the PBL Championship Series, the Drive are now one win from winning it all. They will have two chances at home to win one more game. The Drive allowed the second fewest points at home in the history of the RazorSharks tonight with 91. The lowest point total allowed to the RazorSharks at home is 89 points. Anthony Slack had a monster game. Slack scored a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He made 5 of 10 free-throws. Daniel Ruffin also dominated the scoring column with 22 points. Ruffin led the team in scoring. The Drive shot 46.8% overall and made 10 of 27 three-point shots. They went 14 for 21 at the free-throw line.

Early in the opening quarter both teams seemed to feel each other out. Rochester score the first points of the game but Nathan Fuqua had a slam dunk for the first points for the Drive. The teams exchanged slim leads throughout the quarter and neither really ran away early. Central Illinois led 17-16 after the 1st quarter.

The Drive took a 9 point lead early in the 2nd quarter as the offense seemed to get clicking. The Drive led 32-23 with a 15-7 run. But then the tables turned as the RazorSharks went on an 11-0 run before the Drive scored again it turned into an 18-6 run. It was a 25-21 quarter in favor of Rochester and the RazorSharks led 41-38 at halftime. Part of the problem was at the free-throw line. Rochester made 5 of 10 free-throws in the half while the Drive only had 1 of 5. Daniel Ruffin had 12 points at halftime.

The Drive kick started the offense at the start of the 3rd quarter. The team went on a 12-0 run to take a 50-41 lead.

Rochester once again kept up and they did not let the game get away. The RazorSharks were able to tie the game but were not able to reclaim the lead in the quarter. The Drive got their lead back with only seconds remaining and led 72-69 entering the 4th quarter. It was a 34-28 quarter in favor of Central Illinois.

The Central Illinois offense continued in the 4th with a 9-2 run to start the quarter. It turned into a 17-7 run that allowed the Drive to take a 13 point lead. It was their biggest lead of the game. Rochester again was able to keep it from getting away but the Drive kept the lead this time and put the game in the win column.

Series Recap

Game 1: Drive 98 - Rochester 89

Game 2: Rochester at Drive April 14, 7:05 pm CDT

*Game 3: Rochester at Drive April 15, 4:05 pm CDT

(*if necessary)

The Drive are back home Saturday night at 7:05 pm for game 2 of the PBL Championship Series with the Eastern Division Champion Rochester RazorSharks. The Drive lead the series 1-0 so a win would end the season. For more on the Central Illinois Drive, visit www.drivehoops.com and visit the Premier Basketball League at www.thepbl.com. All games can be heard on WJBC Online.

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