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Nighthawks Dominate Jacksonville By 28, 144-116

February 18, 2008 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Maryland NightHawks News Release


Rockville, MD -- This was a coming out party for the up-and-coming Nighthawks, who have now won three of their last four games.

The Nighthawks dominated their East Division rival, the undermanned Jacksonville Slam, Feb. 16 by a final score of 144-116. The 144 points produced by the Nighthawks' electrifying transition offense was a season-high, as the Nighthawks shot 53 percent (60-113) from the field.

"It was a good team effort today," said Nighthawks Head Coach Lawrence Moten. "I really feel like we're just starting to gel and get things together. We have a bunch of guys that can score but our key is just to stop people and play hard on defense and we did that tonight."

On the defensive side, the Nighthawks were equally effective. The Nighthawks' crafty pressure defense baffled the Slam, who committed 21 turnovers as a team. The Slam's guards were unable to produce anything at all utilizing their offensive method of choice- dribble presentation. This came in response to the Nighthawks stockpiling block shots (12 altogether) at the Slam's expense.

Unlike their past victories, the Nighthawks did not rely on a handful of scorers, and instead integrated the whole team in their offensive production. As a team, the Nighthawks featured eight players in double figures. Rising point guard Warren Jefferson keyed in a team-high 22 points and crowd favorite, forward Barry Mitchell scored a season-high 14 points.

The Nighthawks also out-rebounded the Slam by 15, which is key for a team that does not usually receive a positive output in that statistical category.

Dunks and alley-oops were on center stage for this contest, which was all but over after three quarters of play as the Nighthawks maintained a 19-point halftime lead for the entirety of the second half. Down the stretch, stalwart Nighthawks forward Andrew "Sponge-Bob" Washington rivaled teammate Randy "White Chocolate" Gill's streetballing career as the star forward threw down his own share of highlight reel worthy dunks. Reserve forward Barry Mitchell also shined off the bench scoring 13 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in just over 17 minutes of action.

" [Coach] put me in the game late and I provided a spark and played with a lot of energy," said Mitchell. "Hopefully we can keep this going, I don't see why not."

For the Nighthawks, this win moves the team to a record of (3-7), which is deceptive to the team's play as of late. Maryland looks to keep the emotion going Feb.16 against the Rockford Fury.

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