Jam wins on the road at Orlando again
March 4, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Jacksonville Slam News Release
The Jacksonville Jam (26-8) have now won 8 of 9 games in the last two in a half weeks and 11 of their last 13 games since mid-January with a road victory over the Orlando Aces (8-18) on Saturday afternoon.
The Jam came out fast early taking total control of the game in the first quarter. Anthony Lumpkin, Jerry Williams, and DeRon Rutledge scored early baskets as Jacksonville spurted ahead, and when Bobby St. Preux nailed a 3 pointer, the Jam pulled clear 17-11 to take control of the game late in the first quarter. Jacksonville led at the end of the first quarter 26-18.
In the second period of play the Jam extended its lead to 23 points as Anthony Hatcher came off the Jam bench to hit two 3's and clearly made his presence felt on the defensive end of the court. Hatcher and Ray Rose created defensive pressure that caused numerous turnovers that led to Jacksonville easy baskets. The Aces of Orlando would not quit though led by ABA All-Star, Alex Hill. Hill scored 20 points in the first half and led an Orlando run late in the second quarter to cut into the Jam lead. Jacksonville led at half-time 57-40.
Jacksonville came out to start the second half again fast and again extended their lead to twenty points. But Orlando would not go away and continued to match the Jam basket for basket throughout the third quarter. The Jam continued to control the tempo of the game and went into the fourth quarter up by 17 points. The last quarter was controlled by Jacksonville, but Orlando continued to battle as they have all season long. With the Jam up by 16 points with 4 minutes to play Orlando went on a 6-0 run to cut the Jam to 10 points. But Hatcher and Williams created turnovers that led to Jam transition baskets and Jacksonville extended the lead back to 14 points and controlled the game the rest of the way to get the win 99-88.
Williams once again led the Jam in scoring with 23 points. Rutledge had 16 points and 9 rebounds. Both St. Preux and Hatcher contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds a piece. Lumpkin followed up with 14 points and 7 assist. Nick Wallery also chipped in 8 points and had a team high 11 rebounds. Jacksonville played short handed on Saturday afternoon as Jam center, Johnny Tyson was unable to play with a strained muscle in his leg and Antonio Lawrence missed the game because of a death in his family. Orlando was led with another outstanding performance by Hill, who scored a game high 32 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Only two other Ace players scored in double figures though as Johnny McClendon had 17 points and George McCloud chipped in 16 points.
The Jam will be back on court on Sunday afternoon as they host the Knoxville Noise in their last regular season home game on the Jam homecourt at UNF Arena. Tip-off is slated for 3:05pm.
JAM NOTES:
* The Jam are now 12-5 on the road this season and are 14-3 at home. The Jam have also posted a 19-7 Southeast Divisional Record this season, and are 7-1 vs non-divisional opponents.
* Jacksonville is the #4 ranked team in the ABA Power Rankings. The new ABA Power Ranking is due out on Monday. Jacksonville hopes to move up as they are one of the hottest teams in the ABA right now!
* The Jam will host the first playoff game in the franchises brief history on Friday night, March 16th on their homecourt at UNF Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm. The Jam opponent will be known after first round games in the ABA Playoffs. ABA Playoff Tournament Brackets will be released on March 11th. JAM PLAYOFF TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!!! GO TO WWW.JAXJAM.COM OR CALL THE JAM OFFICE at 904-302-5323 FOR TICKET INFORMATION.
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.
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