IBL Weekend Rewind
by Jeff Duncan
Published on April 20, 2008 under International Basketball League (IBL)
It was a weekend of debuts, and streaks coming to end, in the International Basketball League.
The LA Lightning's debut was less than stellar as they lost back to back games to the Battle Creek Knights and didn't eclipse the 100 point mark in either contest. April 18th 861 fans at the Gilbert Sports Arena saw the Lightning fall to the Knights 88-77. Former NBA star Lamond Murray paced the Lightning with 28 and 12. The only other player in double figures for LA was former Santa Barbara Breaker Fred Vinson who had 10 points and 4 boards. Battle Creek had five players in double figures lead by Marcus Evans's 17 points and 8 rebounds. Game two on April 19th was no better for the Lightning. Battle Creek lead from start to finish and beat LA 118-93. LA had six players in double figures lead by Fred Vinson's 18 points. Battle Creek was lead by Eric Smith who tallied 31 points; he was 6-12 beyond the three point line. LA's next opponent is the 6-2 Gary Steelheads April 25th.
The Vancouver Volcanoes 10 game win streak came to a screeching halt in front of 710 fans at Bellingham's Whatcom Pavilion. Bellingham destroyed Vancouver 162-108 in a very up tempo contest. Bellingham lead from start to finish and had seven players hit double digits. Ryan Diggs had a professional high of 39 points, Chris Ferguson added 29 points, and Lukas Henne added 21 for Bellingham. Vancouver was lead by Josh Jackson's 23 points and the steady Porter Troup added 22 points in the loss. Vancouver takes on Central Oregon in Bend April 26th while Bellingham travels across the border to take on the expansion Edmonton Chill the same night.
Snohomish County continues to revamp their roster and add coaches but without Justin Murray and Rashaad Powell they have struggled to a 5-5 record so far. The defensive intensity is lacking this season so Owner Nathan Mumm, a former college coach, joined head coach Randy Redwine on the bench in hopes of improving the defense. SnoCo beat Tacoma 97-95, but then lost to the short handed Portland Chinooks 129-127. Portland is still without David Lucas, David Jackson, and Shamgod Wells. I expected these two teams to play for the Western division title, and they still may, but they need their star players to return from overseas.
Not much changed in the East over the weekend. Holland is still undefeated at 8-0, Elkhart is spotless at 3-0, and Gary keeps getting better with a 6-2 record. China, Las Vegas, and Edmonton have yet to play a game in the 2008 IBL season. The Stars are scheduled to tip off their season April 24th at the improved Windy City Soldiers. China was scheduled for an April 19th game but did not play. Their next scheduled game is April 25th against the Central Oregon Hotshots. Edmonton will host Bellingham April 26th at the MacEwan Centre for Sports and Wellness.
If you have any feedback for me, good or bad, please shoot me an email at sportsmammal@nwlink.com I would love to hear from you!
International Basketball League Stories from April 20, 2008
- Steelheads make it four straight - Gary Steelheads
- Even The Chill Were Cold - Edmonton Chill
- IBL Weekend Rewind - OSC Original by Jeff Duncan
- Latinos Unidos To Host This Saturday's Explosion Home Game - Snohomish County Explosion
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