Injury Riddled Millrats Lose
December 29, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Saint John Riptide News Release
Quebec City, Canada: The Manchester Millrats ventured north to snowy Quebec City seeking a win against the Quebec Kebekwa, whom the Millrats were 0-2 against this season. If it was a win they were seeking, they were going to have to do it with leading scorer and starting point guard, Ismael Caro, who was out with a sprained ankle.
Despite a strong start by the Millrats, the Kebs prevailed 113-106. An animated start by Manchester provided a sixteen point second quarter lead in the second quarter. Quebec hung tough and sliced the deficit to just eight with 2 seconds left in the first half. A full court pass gave John Huggins the opportunity to drill a 40 foot three pointer at the half, making the Manchester lead 59-48 at the intermission.
The injury situation got worse for the Millrats as 6'11 center Souleymane Wane went down in the second quarter with a sprained ankle, and 2007 ABA All Star forward Rob Sanders suffered a pulled hamstring in the third quarter. The six remaining Millrats in the rotation fought hard in the second half, but the Kebs red hot shooting combined with Manchester fatigue enabled Quebec to emerge with another win. Manchester was 4-21 from three point range in the second half while Quebec shot 7-13.
"Our guys fought hard and while fresh we extended a double digit lead," explained Millrats Head Coach Larry Lessett, "but in the fourth they were dog tired and shots we normally make just wouldn't go down."
The Manchester Millrats were led in scoring by Anthony Anderson with 31 points. Charles Fortier had 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Kebs. Manchester drops to 12-5 on the season while Quebec improves to 6-10.
"The injuries are tough to deal with, but that's something that is a real factor in the pro game and other players will need to step up," answered Millrats GM Ian McCarthy.
The Millrats host the defending ABA Champion Vermont Frost Heaves tomorrow (Dec 30th) at 4:35 pm at the Fieldhouse on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University. The Millrats are 2-1 against the Heaves this season, but Vermont is on a roll have won seven games in a row including a 133-107 trouncing of Manchester on December 17th in Burlington.
All Manchester Millrats games are 'events'. Each game is headlined by a host of entertainment and family fun including exciting basketball, music, live singer(s), our mascot - Milly the Millrat, the Pink Sapphire Dancers, fun contests, a halftime show, and the Spindel Eye Associates $10,000 Hot Shot Challenge!
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.
• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...
American Basketball Association Stories from December 29, 2007
- Tycoons improve to 9-1 - Texas Tycoons
- Injury Riddled Millrats Lose - Saint John Riptide
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.
