Miners handle Tru Hope in Interleague Challenge game
January 3, 2009 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
East Kentucky Miners News Release
PIKEVILLE, KY. - Returning from a holiday break, East Kentucky gradually pulled away from Tru Hope Friday in another Interleague Challenge game pitting a CBA team versus an ABA squad at the East Kentucky Expo Center. East Kentucky outscored Tru Hope 31-18 in the third quarter en route to a 112-91 win on Appalachian Wireless Night. The Miners (7-0) won the quarter points 6.5-0.5.
East Kentucky led at the end of each quarter, outscoring Tru Hope 49-45 in the first half. Miners Coach Kevin Keathley was pleased with his team's second-half performance.
"In the second half, we played hard and together," said Keathley. "We had a strong second effort and that allowed us to get the win."
Mike Dean turned in another game-high scoring effort for East Kentucky, finishing with 30 points. Dean was one of five East Kentucky players to reach double figures.
Jason McLeish scored 20 points and dished off a game-high eight assists for the Miners. Jermaine Blackburn, who recorded a rare quadruple-double earlier in the season, had 19 points, five assists, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks for East Kentucky. Joe Buck (eight rebounds) and Delvin Thomas (nine rebounds) turned in near double-double efforts for the Miners, scoring 11 points apiece.
All 10 East Kentucky players broke into the scoring column.
Former CBA Player of the Year Galen Young led the Miners in rebounding, collecting 11 boards.
As a team, East Kentucky recorded 12 steals.
Marcus Fisher led Tru Hope, scoring 29 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Fisher was one of four Tru Hope players to reach double figures in the scoring column.
Maurice Latham and Jason Clark each had double-doubles for the Trailblazers. Latham contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds. Clark added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Virginia team.
Tru Hope committed a game-high 26 turnovers.
The Trailblazers struggled from behind the three-point line, hitting just two of 13 attempts. Each team grabbed 46 rebounds.
Attendance for the East Kentucky-Tru Hope game was 2,439. East Kentucky will host the Georgia Gwizzlies Sunday at the Expo Center in another Interleague Challenge game. Tip-off for the East Kentucky-Georgia game is set for 4:05 p.m.
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Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from January 3, 2009
- Miners handle Tru Hope in Interleague Challenge game - East Kentucky Miners
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