Harlem suffers first loss as Strong Dogs in New York City

February 7, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Tampa Bay Strong Dogs News Release


BROOKLYN, USA - After a convincing victory over the Maryland NightHawks the night before, the Harlem Strong Dogs could not repeat their winning performance Sunday afternoon at Medgar Evers College. Missed free throws throughout the game caused the demise of the Strong Dogs' attempt to remain undefeated at home and dropping their season record to 13-6.

Once gain, both teams traded leads in the first quarter but the Strong Dogs went into halftime leading 57-49. However, the result was different than Saturday night's when Maryland pulled away to a 107-97 win against their American Basketball Association (ABA) Blue (East) Division foes.

The NightHawks were led by Jason Williams' (Radford University) 21 points. Randy "White Chocolate" Gill also had 20 points, as well as former Syracuse Orangeman and National Basketball Association (NBA) Vancouver Grizzly Lawrence Moten with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Other Maryland double digit point contributors were Brian Chase with 15 and Barry Mitchell with 10.

Harlem Strong Dogs' Courtney Fields once again had a phenomenal game with 30 points and 18 rebounds (9 offensive, 9 defensive). ABA East All-Star Obadiah Toppin chipped in with 23 points and his teammates "Alimoe" had 17 points and DQ Stewart had 10 points in the Strong Dogs first home loss.

The most alarming stat for Harlem was missing 17 out of 55 free throw attempts. Additionally, Maryland was able to hold the Strong Dogs to only 16 points in the fourth quarter while the NightHawks scored 30 points in the final quarter to improve their record to 13-9.

"We have to continue to work hard to get ready for the upcoming playoffs" said Harlem Strong Dogs Head Coach Kenny Charles after the defeat.

The Harlem Strong Dogs now trail by three games in the loss column to ABA Blue (East) Division leader Mississippi Stingers.

For further information about the Harlem Strong Dogs, e-mail info@harlemstongdogs.com and continue to visit www.harlemstrongdogs.com for up-to-date news.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.



American Basketball Association Stories from February 7, 2005


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