Next Level ends Blue Ducks win streak
June 23, 2005 - United States Basketball League (USBL)
Brevard Blue Ducks News Release
Melbourne, FL - One hour and thirty-five minutes. That's how long the Blue Ducks and their fans had to wait for a Next Level team to take the court for a game that was to start at 7:00 PM, but didn't get underway until 8:35 PM.
"I was starting to run out of things to throw out to the crowd during our wait," explained team owner, Mike Richman. "They were understandably getting restless and we were trying to keep them happy. So we threw out mini-basketballs, t-shirts, duck lips and hats. The longer we waited, the more stuff we threw out, the more depleted our inventory became. I was so desperate, I thought of throwing out hot dogs."
It didn't go that far, but the 563 in attendance who waited out the very long pre-game festivities were treated by the Ducks to free tickets to another game in an effort to thank them for their patience.
Unfortunately, it wasn't worth the wait. At least not for a Blue Ducks team that saw its perfect season come to end upon receiving their first loss, 116-103.
Next Level, which had lost three to the Blue Ducks already this season, came loaded with talent and experience for this contest. The starting lineup of Nick Dillon (Northern Louisiana), Chad Townsend (Murray State), Desmond Allison (Univ. of Kentucky), Kenny Williams (St. Pete C.C.) and B.B. Waldon (Univ. South Florida) featured players who had collectively, much more pro and international experience than the local Blue Ducks squad.
"No doubt that was the toughest lineup we faced so far," said Richman. Their starting lineup alone had seen action in Mexico, Argentina, Italy, Greece and France. They had a ton of top international experience. We knew they'd be tough. Not only that, but they were a big team. We probably gave up a foot and a half and 400 to 500 pounds to them as a team. We figured they'd go inside and try to wear us out and that's exactly what they did."
Indeed. Next Level used their big bodies to batter the Blue Ducks inside all night. Though Brevard battled almost to a dead heat in rebounds, swiping 48 off the glass compared to 50 for Next Level, the visitors inside game took a toll on the Blue Ducks smaller players leading to a decided edge in field goal percentage for the all-star team from the south as they hit 57% of their field goal attempts compared to only 40% for the Ducks.
Next Level was led by B.B. Waldon. The 6'8 forward led his team in both scoring and rebounding, posting 25 points and 14 boards. Kenny Williams, who had a strong game last weekend against Brevard, netted 21 points on 10 for 16 shooting and added 14 rebounds.
The Blue Ducks were led by emerging star, Corey Evans who tallied 26. Mark Christian, Jr. chipped in with 18 points to go along with 9 rebounds. John Lamers had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"Oddly enough, we were well within our rights to have asked for a forfeit," said Richman. "Visiting teams are supposed to be on the court, ready to go one hour before the game. But they called and said they were running late. They just didn't say how late. Some of our staff inquired about requesting a forfeit but some of their players had arrived and I knew the others would be coming. Beside, we had fans who came out on another miserable rainy night to support us and who expected to see a basketball game. I didn't want to disappoint them. It's a shame. We could have been 7-0 but it would have been a hollow victory had it been done through forfeiture."
The Blue Ducks play again Friday night at the Clemente Center in a rematch against a Florida All-Star/102 Jamz Dynasty team that lost only its third game in its last fifty-one contests against the Blue Ducks back on June 12th. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM.
It will be ESPN night. Terry Bowden will join the ESPN broadcast crew at the game and will ref a special half-time 3-on-3 basketball contest pitting the ESPN station crew against three lucky fans. It is also Thunderstix Night. The first 250 kids arriving to the game get a free pair of the popular noisemakers.
For tickets, call (321) 751-BLUE or visit the website at www.BrevardBlueDucks.com. Tickets are also available at the Clemente Center box office which opens an hour before game time.
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United States Basketball League Stories from June 23, 2005
- USBL announces yearly awards - USBL
- Next Level ends Blue Ducks win streak - Brevard Blue Ducks
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