Explosion Looking to Rebound this Weekend with Back to Back Division Games

April 23, 2009 - International Basketball League (IBL)
Snohomish County Explosion News Release


The Snohomish County Explosion(1-2) have never played Friday nights appointment the Vancouver Titians (2-1) but they get the honor to be a part of their opening night calibrations in British Columbia as pro basketball returns to the city the NBA deserted years ago. After Friday night's high energy event the Explosion head back home to take on the IBL 2008 Champions, "Bellingham Slam" Saturday at 7:15 in the Monroe Sports Arena.

The Slam and Explosion have met up three times in the 2008 regular season with the Slam taking the season series 2-1 over Snohomish County. In the most recent, battle between the two squads, the Slam earned a 149-112 victory as Ryan Diggs scored 37 points for the Slam in the win. Diggs will not be in uniform for the game this Saturday as he is on the NBA D-League Finals. Brandon Smith, and Tyler Amaya (former Explosion Player in 2007) have both taken over the team leadership for the Slam with 30 plus point games this season. The Slam bring in newly added Center Steve Newman to battle against the IBL leading scorer Devon Greene and IBL assist leader Anthony Slater of the Explosion.

Eight points separate the Explosion from being a 3-0 team and instead now hold a 1-2 record to start the season. The Explosion have been competitive in every game and with the 30 point win against the USA All Stars the Explosion have outscored all competitors in point per game but needs two wins this weekend. This does not matter much now as the Explosion are sitting in third place in the division and with two division games this weekend wins are at a premium.

"Devon Greene is the real NBA deal, better than advertised, and passes the ball like a point guard" were a few of the words from life long Explosion ticket holders last Saturday. This was a great night as the Snohomish County Explosion had its largest home crowd since its inaugural game in 2007 in which they had over three thousand fans.

Point guard Anthony Slater was not able to show his magic in the final minutes last weekend as foul trouble cost him to sit out the fourth quarter on the bench. A huge bright spot in the loss was the standout play of point guard Jason Hicks who had 22 points. If both Hicks and Slater can be on the floor at the same time teams will have problems with this one-two punch.

Fans and analysts are really looking for this weekend's matchup to see how the young team and coach Weakley do with division opponents. Looking for two upsets, future rookie of the year Hicks is gaining more experience and is put up nice numbers as a point guard/shooting guard.

Explosion Concerns:

Offensive Rebounding has been weak for the big men and the guards are turning the ball over in the open court during fast break opportunities. Free-throw shooting has also been problematic and has cost the team both games shooting under 60% from the line as a team. Besides Hicks and Slater the Explosion's other guards have not shot well, going 3-12 against Seattle.

Explosion Upside:

Devon Greene has not had a shooting slump at all this season and looks strong from the three point and foul line. As the IBL league leading scorer at 39.3 points per game Greene is a highlight film and fun to watch. Youthful teams mature as seasons continue so look for the Explosion to continue to grow with unlimited potential from the bench. Ford has also put up three double-double games and could be a potential star player as the season continues.



International Basketball League Stories from April 23, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central