Kentucky Reach falls short in season-opener
April 30, 2004 - World Basketball Association (WBA)
Kentucky Reach News Release
Elizabethtown, Ky. - It wouldn’t be a far “Reach” to say that Kentucky’s newest professional basketball team has the potential to be very successful.
An opening-night win didnÂ’t materialize, but Kentucky Reach, a first-year World Basketball Association franchise based in Elizabethtown, KY, didnÂ’t disappoint the 1,000-plus fans that attended the inaugural game at Central Hardin High School on Friday night.
“The crowd was great, really tremendous,” said Reach shooting guard James “Boo” Brewer following the Reach’s 87-86 loss to the Jackson (Mississippi) Rage. “We didn’t play as well as we’d have liked. We missed some shots we should have made, but considering first game jitters and all, we feel that we’ll definitely improve as the season moves along.”
Kentucky Reach trailed by as much as 15 points (57-42) midway through the third quarter, but made a late push to keep the game interesting. The Reach cut the deficit to 84-83 when former Kentucky Wesleyan standout Marshall Sanders hit two free throws with :33 seconds remaining. On the next possession, JacksonÂ’s Mario Austin, a former Mississippi State standout and former draft pick of the Chicago Bulls, was fouled and made one of two free throws to give the visiting Rage a 85-83 edge.
On the ensuing possession, Kentucky Reach (0-1) missed a golden opportunity to tie the game when former LSU forward Lamont Roland was unable to handle center Antoine BroxieÂ’s pass right under the basket. The Reach was forced to foul, and the RageÂ’s David Sanders (Ole Miss) calmly sank two free throws for an 87-83 advantage with :02 left.
Reach guard Antoine Pettway, a standout on AlabamaÂ’s 2003-04 NCAA Elite Eight squad, nailed a 30-footer at the buzzer, but it was too little too late.
Pettway, a sharp-shooting guard led the Reach with 24 points and six assists, while Roland added 18 points (12 pts in the first half). Tyrone Levett posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Austin paced Jackson with a game-high 28 points and 13 rebounds. The 6-10 center made 11 of 20 field goals and scored 13 points in the first half as Jackson built a 51-40 lead going into halftime.
“We didn’t do a very good job on defense,” said Brewer, who finished the game with 6 points. “They (Jackson) shot 62 percent in the first half, and you can’t allow a team to shoot that high of a percentage and expect to win.”
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