Miners fall in season opener
November 17, 2007 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
East Kentucky Miners News Release
PITTSBURGH - The East Kentucky Miners opened the 2007-08 CBA season on the road Friday night at the Petersen Events Center versus the host Pittsburgh Xplosion. East Kentucky Coach Kevin Keathley got four action-packed quarters and an extra session out of his first-year team.
The Miners, however, fell short on the road. Pittsburgh took a lead for good in overtime on an Odell Bradley three-point field goal and defeated the Miners 123-118.
Bradley paced the home team with a game-high 34 points. The game's leading scorer also pulled down 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double.
Kevin Mickens followed with 33 points and 8 rebounds for the Xplosion. Bradley was a force for Pittsburgh late, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
East Kentucky guard Bryant Northern knotted the game at 108-108 with 56.9 seconds remaining in regulation when he knocked down the first of two free throws. The game was left tied after Northern missed the second foul shot and Pittsburgh's Shaun Fountain, a former Indiana Alley Cat, failed to hit a pair of charity offerings.
Former Syracuse standout Josh Pace missed a shot as time expired in the fourth quarter.
Pace led East Kentucky with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. The reigning New Zealand player of the year was also credited with eight assists.
James "Boo" Jackson followed with a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Miners.
Northern also had 21 points for East Kentucky. Lawrence Barnes joined a trio of East Kentucky teammates in double figures in the scoring column, finishing with 19 points.
The Miner scoring effort was balanced. Marcus Heard and Jason McLeish each had seven points in the season-opener.
East Kentucky led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter. The Miners led 31-30 at the conclusion of the first quarter and toted a 55-51 lead into halftime.
Pittsburgh owned a 4-3 advantage over East Kentucky in the quarter points category. The Xplosion outscored the Miners 30-22 in the third quarter.
The Miners will host Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon at the East Kentucky Expo Center. Tip-off for East Kentucky's home opener is set for 4:05 p.m.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from November 17, 2007
- Miners fall in season opener - East Kentucky Miners
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