Millrats Take Down Vermont
December 30, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Saint John Riptide News Release
Manchester, New Hampshire: The Manchester Millrats ended a four game skid by once again taking down the Vermont Frost Heaves, 108-95. Manchester is now 3-1 against the defending ABA Champions, and have given the Heaves all of their losses on the season.
The win was even more impressive given the fact that Manchester was missing two starters: 2007 ABA All Star forward Rob Sanders and 6'11 former UConn center Souleymane Wane. Both players were injured in the Millrats previous game at Quebec.
To offset the short term loss of Sanders and Wane, Millrats GM Ian McCarthy brought in a 'secret weapon'...6'11 center Mike Williams. Williams, an '05 Bryant University grad, led the Italian League first division in rebounding a year ago before a herniated disk sidelined his overseas career. His blonde mohawk and size gave him an 'Ivan Drago' intimidation factor.
"With Wane and Sanders down we knew we were going to have our hands full against Vermont's deep and physical team," explained McCarthy, "so I contacted Mike and asked him how he felt, and he said was ready to go."
The 6'11 Williams and 6'11 Ife Anosike provided tremendous interior defense for the Millrats with six blocks between them, plus numerous altered shots. The two centers and power forward David Cooper combined for 26 rebounds, as the Millrats pounded the Heaves inside on offense and on defense.
With no love loss between the two teams, the game was more of a war than a basketball game, and oftentimes looked like a WWF match. The physical nature of each possession resulted in seventy-six foul calls, and the game took three hours to play out.
The Millrats gained a 59-50 halftime lead behind tough perimeter pressure and the physical interior play. The highlight play of the first half was a monster one handed slam plus the foul by Millrats forward David Cooper over Dokin Akinbade.
In the third quarter, Rashid Al-Kaleem provided a huge lift for Manchester by going 3 of 3 from behind the arc. Issa Konare kept Vermont within striking distance with 13 points in the quarter.
Down the stretch the Manchester guard core of Anthony Anderson, Izzy Caro, John Huggins and Chris Burns were able to consistently advance through the Vermont pressure and get their team good scoring opportunites.
Manchester held the Frost Heaves to just 35% shooting for the game, and just 14% from beyond the arc in the second half.
The Manchester Millrats were led in scoring by Anthony Anderson with 22 points, John Huggins 21, and David Cooper 15. New signing Mike Williams added 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Vermont was led by Issa Konare with 27 points. The victory propels Manchester to a 13-5 record and Vermont drops to 13-3 on the season.
The Millrats next stop is the Far East country of Singapore for two games against the Beijing Aoshen Olympians on the 7th and 8th of January.
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 December 30, 2007
- Millrats Take Down Vermont - Saint John Riptide
- Frost Heaves Fall to Manchester 108-95 - Vermont Frost Heaves
- Frost Heaves Improve To 13-2, On Six-Game Winning Streak - Vermont Frost Heaves
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