Miners fall to Minot in finale
March 7, 2008 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
East Kentucky Miners News Release
PIKEVILLE, KY. - Host Minot won three quarters Thursday night as American Conference foe East Kentucky visited for a late regular-season game at the Municipal Auditorium. After battling back from a first quarter deficit, East Kentucky managed to carry a slim 64-63 lead into halftime. Minot, however, maintained an advantage in each of the last two quarters. The Skyrockets enjoyed third and fourth quarter surges, defeating the Miners 134-121. Minot prevailed 6-1 in the quarter points category.
Six different Minot players reached double figures in the scoring column.
Farragut Academy product Ronnie Fields led a balanced Minot offensive effort. Fields finished with a team-high 25 points. Kevin Johnson followed with 24 points for the host Minot team. Ray Cunningham was close behind his two teammates in the offensive category, ending the contest with 23 points.
Mike Dean led East Kentucky with a game-high 40 points. Dean hit 13-of-13 shots from the free throw line and connected on 5-of-11 three-point field goal attempts. The former Middle Tennessee State standout also dished out 12 assists, recording a double-double for the visiting squad.
Josh Pace contributed 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Miners.
Steve Thomas added a double-double of 20 points and 19 rebounds for the Miners in the setback. Thomas, who ranked as the game's leading rebounder, pulled down 16 defensive caroms.
Jason McLeish also registered a double-double for East Kentucky, finishing with 16 points and 11 assists.
The Miners recorded 33 assists opposed to 16 turnovers.
East Kentucky hit 81.3-percent (26-of-32) of its shots from the free throw line.
Minot went 53-for-99 (53.5-percent from the field. The Skyrockets hit 50-percent (6-of-12) of their 3-point field goal attempts.
Minot outrebounded East Kentucky 54-41.
The Skyrockets took a 41-33 lead out of the opening quarter. After falling behind in the second quarter, Minot was able to regain the lead early in the second half, outscoring East Kentucky 37-28 in the third quarter.
Center Lee Scruggs provided Minot (35-10) an inside presence, blocking four shots. As a team, Minot blocked nine East Kentucky scoring attempts.
East Kentucky will travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, March 11 for a CBA Playoffs play-in game versus the Xplosion. Tip-off for the East Kentucky-Pittsburgh game is set for 8 p.m.
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