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January 9, 2008 - Premier Basketball League (PBL) News Release


PBL TEAM REPORTS

Professional basketball in the Little Rock, Arkansas area has always had its supporters, and fans still remember when the Arkansas RimRockers packed 14,000 people into Barton Coliseum. These days a new franchise, the Arkansas Impact, look to make their name in the Premier Basketball League. Led by Todd Day, the leading scorer in University of Arkansas basketball history, the Impact started their season with a road victory over the Chicago Throwbacks on Sunday afternoon, 114-103. Ryan Holmes, a 6'6" shooting guard from Philander Smith College who previously suited up for the Arkansas Angels (WBA) and RimRockers (NBDL), was top scorer for the Impact, notching 25 points in the victory.

The Chicago Throwbacks took their first Premier Basketball League road trip, traveling to Rockford for their PBL opener against the Fury. In a struggle that did not end with the regulation four quarters, nor did it end with one overtime, the Throwbacks defeated the Fury 136-134 in two overtime periods. At one point in the game, Chicago had a 21-point lead before Rockford pulled back to keep the game close. The Throwbacks, fueled by the scoring of Stanley Thomas and Jerome Harper, both of whom finished with 30 points, led 43-24 after one period and had its biggest lead, at 53-32, when Craig Franklin hit a free throw halfway through the second quarter. Both teams tied at 113-113, then again at 122-122, before the Throwbacks, led by guards Steve Strong and Craig Franklin, pulled out the victory. The emotional energy of a double-overtime season-opening may have been too much for this young franchise, as the Throwbacks lost Sunday night to the Arkansas Impact 114-103, losing an early lead in the final minutes. "We lacked intensity and made costly turnovers," said Throwbacks head coach Donnie Boyce. "You have to credit Arkansas for exploiting our fatigue." Stanley Thomas led all Throwbacks in scoring with 24 points.

The Dallas Defenders began their Premier Basketball League season on the road in Moline, Ill., facing the Quad Cities Riverhawks. Unfortunately for the Defenders, their defense was not in this game, as Dallas fell 127-92 to their Illinois host. The Defenders, who were down by as many as 29 points in the second quarter, were able to cut the lead to 17 at halftime, but then watched as the Riverhawks recaptured the momentum and increased their lead to as many as 39 points in the fourth quarter. Ronald Blackshear led the Defenders with 19 points; Tony Gipson and Ken Barnes each added 15. Lonnie Randolph, who played for the Riverhawks last season in a previous league, scored 8 points as a member of the Defenders.

The Jacksonville Jam began their 2008 PBL season at the University of North Florida Arena, hosting the Rochester RazorSharks. Unfortunately for the Jam, they were not able to defeat the Sharks, falling 101-83 to the visitors. The Jam did have several solid runs throughout the game, including a 20-7 stretch to close out the third quarter, trailing by three before going ice-cold from the floor, running into a 23-8 deficit to close out the match. The loss spoiled the pro coaching debut of former Florida A&M coach Mike Gillespie. Three players from the Florida A&M squad are on the Jam, including Brian Greene, who led the Jam in scoring with 17 points.

Next up for the Jam was a road trip to Reading, Pa., to help the Reading Railers open their home season. The Jam shot 55% from beyond 3-point range to defeat the Railers 104-101. In a seesaw battle that had Jacksonville up by four at the half, only to find themselves down by four after the third quarter, Brian Greene scored two clutch baskets down the stretch, and Antonio Lawrence hit a game-deciding 3-pointer. Jacksonville had six players double figures, led by Brian Greene (19 pts, 13 rebounds) and Jerry Williams' 16 points. Coach Gillespie was proud of his team as he earned his first win in the professional ranks. "The guys played hard tonight and the key was that we hit our shots. That's what makes the difference."

Despite solid efforts from Antric Klaiber (17 pts), Omar Weaver (15 pts) and David Bailey (14 pts, 15 rebounds), the Maryland Nighthawks lost their home opener to the Wilmington Sea Dawgs 92-89. The Nighthawk fans in attendance were immediately dazzled with their home town team's energy, especially when Maryland's David Bailey scored nine first-quarter points, spurred by his first dunk of the season. Although the Sea Dawgs were ahead in the fourth quarter, Maryland's Lonnie Herrell (10 pts) and Antric Klaiber triggered a Nighthawk scoring surge, taking the lead at 72-66, but lost the scoring touch as the minutes ticked away, only putting up 17 final points to Wilmington's 26. "It was a good start," said Nighthawks 6'8" forward David Bailey. "We learned a lot from today's game and hopefully we can pull it together and advance to a better season than we had last year. I'm looking forward for this season. It's a good team and once we get the chemistry working out, I don't feel like anyone will be able to compete with us." Also in attendance at the Nighthawks' home opener was the Ambassador to Thailand, in attendance to which Maryland signee and Thai native Ratdech "J.O." Kruatiwa play his first professional game. Prior to the home opener, the Nighthawks were welcomed to the Thailand embassy in Washington, D.C., in honor of Kruatiwa's signing with the team.

Following that contest, the Nighthawks traveled to Reading, Pa. for a contest against the Reading Railers. In a physical game by both sides, with injuries on close plays and several technical fouls, the Nighthawks lost to the Railers 145-121. Hugh Jones, a 6'3" forward also known as "Baby Shaq" from his streetball days, led all Nighthawks in scoring with 25 points.

In their season opener, the Quad Cities Riverhawks took advantage of a 29-point lead in the second quarter and destroyed the Dallas Defenders 127-92. Willie Mitchell and Ryan Edwards scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead seven Riverhawks in double figures. "We got what we needed to out of it. We were playing strong," said Edwards to the Quad City Times newspaper. Edwards' scoring came on 6-15 shooting from the floor, and also included four 3-pointers. The Riverhawks' pressure defense forced Dallas to commit 10 first-quarter turnovers. At one point, the Riverhawks held a 39-point lead over Dallas in the fourth quarter. "This is hallowed ground," said coach LaTroy Farrow to the Quad City Dispatch-Argus-Leader, when told that the building once housed an NBA franchise in the 1940's. "It's an honor being on the same floor with all of the great players and coaches that have come before us."

The last time professional basketball was played in Reading, the year was 1958, the team was the Reading Keys of the old Eastern League, and the home court was the old Reading Armory. On Saturday, the Reading Railers opened their 2008 season at the sparkling Sovereign Center, hosting the Jacksonville Jam. With a roster that was almost completely different than the one that played in Reading's exhibition contests, the Railers lost a back-and-forth contest to the Jacksonville Jam, 104-101. Despite the loss, the crowd of 1,379 cheered during the third quarter, when the Railers showed signs of domination over the visiting Jam. During that time period, Ira Miller snapped in a 3-pointer, pushing the lead to eight. Veteran forward Jerald Brown added a slam dunk, then forward Aaron Williams hustled up the court twice to put back misses, and Jared Mills scored two points off a missed free throw. Jerald Brown finished the game with 22 points to lead all Railers in scoring; Ira Miller added 18 points, including four 3-point shots. But as the fourth quarter's tempo slowed down, so too did the Railers, who watched as Jacksonville creeped closer - and eventually took the win. "We went into a little bit of a drought there," said Lennox McCoy, a 6'0" guard from the University of Central Oklahoma, to the Reading Eagle newspaper. "We went too much one-on-one there, myself included. It's a learning experience for us. We're all trying to get to know each other. Once we do, I think we'll be one of the better teams in this league."

The Railers' second game, a home matchup against the Maryland Nighthawks, was a physical and draining affair, with several players receiving warnings and technical fouls for rough play. The game eventually landed on the shoulders of Jared Mills, the Railers' first-round draft pick out of Randolph-Macon College, and Mills didn't disappoint. Mills had a team-high 25 points in Reading's 145-121 win over the Nighthawks, including going 6-of-7 from the line and 9-of-14 from the field - including three dunks and a 3-pointer. "Tonight I felt like I really had to step up," said Mills to the Reading Eagle. "It didn't matter if I could do it or not, I felt like I had to do it."

The Rochester RazorSharks started off their 2008 Inaugural season in the PBL with a 101-83 road victory over the Jacksonville Jam. The RazorSharks were able to go on an impressive 21-9 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter, and went into the half with a 51-37 lead spurred by Keith Friel's 15 points, including shooting 4-6 from behind the arc in the first half. With 2:25 left to play, the RazorSharks capped off a 23-8 run. The RazorSharks went 21-27 from the free throw line, including 11-12 in the second half to close out the game. James "Mook" Reaves led all RazorSharks in scoring with 20 points; Keith Friel added 18 points to start the season. Vidal Massiah, Rochester's first-round draft pick, finished the game with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The Razorsharks led Wilmington on Sunday afternoon's contest for most of the game, until Wilmington crept back to tie the contest at 81-81; with 10 seconds remaining, the RazorSharks overthrew an inbound pass allowing Wilmington's Jermaine Williams to scoop up the ball and drive down the court for the winning score, as the Razorsharks fell 83-81 to the Sea Dawgs. Sammy Monroe, a Razorshark from nearby Jacksonville, N.C., led Rochester with 15 points. "These types of losses are tough because after leading the entire game it's tough to give it away like we did," Monroe said to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Keith Friel finished with 14 points, including 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, and James "Mook" Reaves led the team with 10 rebounds.

The Rockford Fury's home opener took longer than expected - two periods longer, to be precise - but despite solid scoring efforts and the elimination of a 21-point deficit, the Fury lost to the Chicago Throwbacks 136-134 in double-overtime at the Fury's home opener Saturday night at the Seaver Gymnasium. The 21-point deficit was erased thanks to a fourth-quarter surge by Rockford's Ameer Watts and Nick Michael. Ameer Watts scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, when the Fury scored 34 points to tie the contest; while Nick Michael hit two free throws for the final points in regulation to send the game to overtime at 113-113. The Fury led during one of the oeritme periods, when Rockford's Frank Richards, who had 19 points, hit a layup from the tipoff to start the first overtime period; then Anthony Simmons followed with a pair of free throws before Chicago reasserted itself and took the victory. "We got down too big too early," Watts said to the Rockford Register-Star newspaper. "We came out trying to get a feel for the game and everybody had a couple of jitters so we got started too slow. Coach had prepared us for what they were going to do. He told us they liked to put it on the floor and try to get to the basket and that's pretty much what they did. We have to get tougher on defense. As far as I'm concerned, tonight we beat ourselves."

The Wilmington Sea Dawgs started off their second season on the road Saturday night, as they defeated the Maryland Nighthawks 92-89. Cedric McGinnis led all Sea Dawgs in scoring with 27 points, while Charles Ward scored 16 points. Alvin Jefferson helped the team with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tre' Whitted scored a trio of three-point shots in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.

The Sunday afternoon home opener saw the Sea Dawgs trail their guests, the Rochester Razorsharks, for most of the contest. They were behind 78-73 with just more than a minute left in the fourth quarter, but Alexander Harper and Zach Herrmann made back-to-back 3-pointers, and a layup from Jermaine Williams put Wilmington up 81-80 with 17.6 seconds left. After Rochester made one of two foul shots, and with the score tied at 81-81 with 6.3 seconds left, Rochester's inbounds pass was overthrown, and Jermaine Williams grabbed it around halfcourt and made the layup to put the Sea Dawgs ahead with 1.6 seconds left, giving the Sea Dawgs an 83-81 win over the Razorsharks. Jermaine Williams was the top scorer for the Sea Dawgs with 17 points; Charles Ward added 16; Alvin Jefferson's 12 points included a team-high 9 rebounds.

Game reports compiled via team press releases, and from articles appearing in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Reading Eagle, the Rockford Register-Star, the Quad City Times, the Quad City Dispatch-Argus-Leader, and other newspapers.

TRIVIA

In 1913, a franchise in Reading, Pa. won the first-ever World Series of Basketball. The Reading Bears of the Eastern League defeated the Troy Trojans of the New York State League 3 games to 2. Back then, both the NYSL and EL were considered top-tier professional leagues.

TRIVIA

The Quad Cities RiverHawks and Rochester RazorSharks play in buildings that once housed NBA franchises. The Razorsharks' Blue Cross Arena once housed the Rochester Royals; while the RiverHawks' Wharton Field House was the residence of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. TRIVIA

The Dallas Defenders' home arena, Alfred J. Loos Fieldhouse, was once home to the Dallas Chapparals of the 1967-1976 ABA.

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Premier Basketball League Stories from January 9, 2008


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