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Nighthawks' rally falls just short against Buffalo

January 21, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Maryland NightHawks News Release


Rockville, MD - The Buffalo Silverbacks came into Maryland wanting to make a statement and did just that. The Silverbacks erased a 16-point first quarter deficit and held onto beat the Maryland Nighthawks 114-108 on Sunday afternoon.

The Nighthawks opened the game strong and built a 32-16 lead with 2:08 left to play in the first quarter. Buffalo however closed the quarter on an 8-3 run, six of those points coming from Buffalo's All-Star Antoine Sims to pull to within 35-24.

Missed free throws, careless fouls, and a lackadaisical defense by the Nighthawks helped Buffalo outscore the Nighthawks 35-17 in the second quarter. Lamar Castile had 11 second quarter pointes on four of six shooting and Antoine Sims 10 second quarter points on four of shooting, led Buffalo in the scoring tirade and headed into halftime with a 59-52 advantage.

The Silverbacks opened up the second half right where they left off, outscoring the Nighthawks 15-8 in the first 6:02 of the third period taking a 74-59 lead and then extended their lead to 91-73 at the end of the third quarter.

The Nighthawks however would not go away. After Buffalo extended their lead to 99-79 with 9:59 remaining in the game, Maryland's Curtis Yarbrough hit a three pointer, and Warren Jefferson scored 12 of the next 14 points for the Nighthawks to pull them within 101-95 with 4:27 remaining in the game. After a 15 foot basket by Buffalo's Kueth Duany, Andrew Washington stole the ball in the backcourt and made a 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining to cut the Buffalo lead to 103-98.

Buffalo's Kenneth "Bad Santa" Brunner responded with lay up on the ensuing possession and Keith Closs converted two free throws to seal the victory for the Buffalo Silverbacks.

Warren Jefferson led the Nighthawks with a season high 29 points and ten rebounds. Andrew "Spongebob" Washington added 19 points and Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones had 18 points. Dameon Samson led the Silverbacks in scoring with 31 points and Kueth Duany had 28 points and six rebounds.

The Nighthawks head into the All-Star break with a 11-10 record. Andrew "Spongebob" Washington will represent the Nighthawks in the All-Star game and Randy "White Chocolate" Gill will try to defend his title in the ABA All-Star Three-point shooting contest.

The Nighthawks will return to action on Saturday, February 3 when they host the Brooklyn Comets at 7:05 pm.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.

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