PBL Weekly Report

Published on February 2, 2009 under Premier Basketball League (PBL) News Release

PBL TEAM REPORTS

Augusta Groove

2332 Rutherford

Augusta, GA 30906

706-737-5550 ext 310

fax:706-739-0219

Head coach: Rick Brown

Home arena: Richmond Academy

augustagroovebasketball.com

A.J. Millien and the Augusta Groove hosted the Mid-Michigan Destroyers Saturday night at Richmond Academy, and for three periods it looked as if the Groove might get derailed. By the fourth quarter, Augusta was down 106-94, but then they went on a 13-1 scoring run to tie the game at 107, and eventually take the victory 125-119. Millien finished with a team-record 44 points, just one point shy of tying the PBL all-time single-game scoring record of 45 points. Millien also finished up with 18 rebounds for a dominant double-double. Cory Sims (20 pts), Lance Leach (16) and Demetrius Howard (16) also had strong nights for the Groove; Howard's 16 points included a quartet of 3-pointers.

Battle Creek Knights

McCamly Place

50 Capital Ave. SW

Battle Creek, MI 49017

Phone: (269) 965-5001

Fax: (269) 965-5004

Head coach: Terry Sare

Home arena: Kellogg Arena

bcknights.com

Put another victory on the Battle Creek Knights' tally, as they improved to 7-0 with a resounding 119-106 triumph over the Detroit Panthers. The game was a physical affair, resulting in three technicals and three ejections, two on the part of the Knights. The ejections spurred the Knights on, as they outscored Detroit 32-19 in the second quarter and 39-33 in the third. "We've got 12 guys on this basketball team that can flat-out play, and when we seem to see some adversity out there, the guys really pull together," Battle Creek coach Terry Sare said. "I think that gave us quite a bit of energy when that situation happened." Kenny Langhorne's 23 points were tops for the Knights; while Allen White notched 18 points, and Jeremy Fife and Florentino Valencia each popped 16 into the scoreboard.

Buffalo Stampede

3498 Sheridan Drive

Amherst, NY 14226

Phone (716) 834-3498

Fax (716) 834-3544

Head coach: John Fitzpatrick

Home arena: Koessler Athletic Ctr.

buffalostampedepbl.com

The Buffalo Stampede, hoping to break their five-game losing streak, hosted the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, the only team against whom the Stampede have scored a win. And in the beginning of the match, Tyrone Rayson scored seven of the Stampede's first nine points, looking to spark Buffalo forward. But it was not to be, as Wilmington went on three solid scoring runs, and left the Koessler Center with a 92-82 victory. Rayson finished with a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds; while Dain Swetella led the Stampede with 16 boards.

Chicago Throwbacks

430 East 162nd Street, Suite 507

South Holland IL 60473

Office: (219) 588-3071

Fax: (219) 884-4558

Head coach: Donnie Boyce

Home arena: Attack Athletics

chicagothrowbacks.com

The Chicago Throwbacks welcomed the Mid-Michigan Destroyers to Attack Athletics for the Windy City's only PBL game of the week, with the hopes of defeating their divisional rivals and fighting their way up the PBL's Central Division standings. But it did not happen, as Chicago fell 117-104 to the Destroyers - Chicago's third straight loss. Michael Herman put up 28 points for the Throwbacks, leading his team in scoring. In the loss, three Throwbacks finished the night with double-doubles - James Booyer (19 pts, 14 rebs), Imari Sawyer (17 pts, 10 assists) and Amir Major (13 pts, 16 rebs).

Detroit Panthers

199 W Brown Street, Suite 110

Birmingham, MI 48009

Phone (248) 645-2278

Fax (248) 920-0482

Head coach: C. Bill Jones

Home arena: Wiley Groves HS

detroitpanthers.com

Things got rough for the Panthers in a Saturday night showdown with the Battle Creek Knights at Birmingham Groves HS. Three technical fouls and three ejections later, the Panthers watched as the Knights improved to 7-0 with a 119-106 win, sinking the Panthers down into the middle of the Central Division pack. Brian Woodland led all Panthers in scoring with 20 points and 8 assists; Kyle Johnson was able to add 17 points. Newly-signed Walt Waters put 15 points on the board.

Halifax Rainmen

1888 Brunswick Street, Suite 611

Halifax, NS B3J 3J8

Phone: (902) 444-RAIN, (902) 444-7246

Fax: 1-866-424-4267

Head Coach: Rick Lewis

Home arena: Halifax MetroCentre

rainmenbasketball.ca

Halifax hosted the Manchester Millrats at the Metro Centre Thursday night, and with a 123-119 home triumph, jumped over the Millrats to take sole possession of the Atlantic Division lead. In the win, Rob Sanders scored a season-high 30 points and pulled down 16 rebounds for a strong double-double. Glen Dandridge also helped out with 23 points, but it was Brian Silverhorn, after missing five games with an injury, that helped spur the Rainmen. Silverhorn had 22 points and 6 rebounds on the night. Jimmy Twyman was the assist king for the night, dishing out 6 successful distributions.

Next stop was a visit to Vermont, to take on the Frost Heaves at the Barre Municipal Auditorium. Despite losing to the Heaves 122-110, Jimmy Twyman hit 31 points on the night, including four three-pointers. Rob Sanders (24) and Tony Bennett (20) also had strong scoring runs for the Rainmen; Sanders also led the team in rebounds with nine boards.

The Rainmen's weekend ended roughly, as Halifax fell 104-92 on the road to the Manchester Millrats. Even though Halifax fell behind 39-23 in the second quarter, Tony Bennett's 27 points helped the Rainmen erase the deficit, and when Rob Sanders hit two key free throws, Halifax tied the matchup at 82-82. But Manchester went on a seven-point run by Desmond Ferguson, and the Millrats pulled away.

Manchester Millrats

816 Elm Street, PMB #182

Manchester, NH 03101

Office: 888-646-RATS (7287)

Fax: 866-321-2821

Head coach: Rob Spon

Home arena: Southern New Hampshire University

manchestermillrats.com

After a grueling 22-hour bus trip from Manchester to Halifax, the Millrats took on the Raimen at the Metro Centre. Even though the Millrats lost 123-119, they had one of the strongest comebacks in PBL history, with an astounding 50 points scored in the fourth quarter to erase a 91-69 third quarter deficit. In the loss, Manchester was led by Sam Carey who finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Alex Owumi, coming off the bench, had a season-high 16 points and team-high 8 rebounds. Lincoln Glass and Tommy Mitchell also came off the bench to tally 17 and 16, respectively. Desmond Ferguson ended up with 16 points and Marlowe Currie chipped in 10 points. Al Stewart dished out a game-high 9 assists.

Sunday may have been time for the Super Bowl, but in the Premier Basketball League Sunday was a matchup between two of the top teams in the Atlantic Division, as Manchester hosted Halifax at Southern New Hampshire University. With Desmond Ferguson scoring 22 points, including 15 down the stretch, Manchester picked up a much-needed victory 104-92. Manchester opened the game on fire and opened a 39-23 lead early in the second quarter. In addition to Ferguson, Manchester saw Tommy Mitchell score 15, Al Stewart 13, Scott Hazelton 11, and Alex Owumi 10.

Mid-Michigan Destroyers

1000 Second Street

Bay City, MI 48708

Phone: (989) 244-1156

Fax: (248) 393-2572

Head coach: T.J. Newsham

Home arena: Bay City Western HS

mmdestroyers.com

The Mid-Michigan Destroyers may have a tough time against the rest of the PBL, but they seem to have the Chicago Throwbacks' number. On Monday night, the Destroyers picked up their second victory of the season - and their second win over the Throwbacks - with a 117-104 road triumph. Chuck Reed's 34 points led the Bay City Crew, whose bench outscored the Throwbacks 51 to 16. Of Troy Coleman's 19 points, 15 of them were scored from beyond 3-point range. Luke Lloyd finished with a team-high 20 rebounds, only the second PBL player to pull down 20 boards this season.

With a home game at Delta Community College, the Destroyers faced off against the Razorsharks in a matchup not seen since the days when Roy Scheider tossed chum into the waters off Amity Island. And despite a game-high 26 points from Odgra Bobo, the Destroyers "needed a bigger boat," as the Razorsharks chewed them up 119-82. Oscar Sanders (14 pts) and Marcus Skinner (16 pts) also had good scoring runs for the Destroyers. Justin Hall only had two points on the night, but those two points came in a thrilling second quarter last-second buzzer-beater.

Next up was a matchup against the Augusta Groove on Saturday evening at Richmond Academy. Although the Destroyers led 30-27 at the end of the first quarter, the team could not find a way to stop Augusta's A.J. Millen, and Mid-Michigan bowed 125-119 to the Groove. Oscar Sanders and Odgra Bobo each put 26 points on the scoreboard, while Luke Lloyd yanked down 19 boards in the Mid-Michigan loss.

Montreal Sasquat'ch

775, Avenue Murray, porte 314

Québec (Québec) (Canada) G1S 4T2

Office in Quebec: (418) 527-8085

Office in Montreal: (514) 207-1996

fax: (418) 845-6782

Head coach: Alejandro Hasbani

Home arena: Centre Pierre Charbonneau

montrealsasquatch.com

Before commencing their weekend road trip, several members of the Montreal Sasquat'ch participated in a special charity fundraising event. Sasquat'ch members Randy «Chocolat Blanc» Gill, John Ruffus, Xavier Morton and Buster Perkins were part of an all-star competition featuring members of the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, as well as radio stations CJAD, CHOM and Mix 96. The celebrity hoops fundraiser was hosted by the West Island Lakers Basketball Association to benefit the Sian Bradwell Fund, whose objective is to purchase medical equipment for the Cancer Ward, Hematology clinic and laboratory at the Montreal Children's Hospital. «C'était extrêmement plaisant de voir les gens réagir, nous encouragé et applaudir comme ils l'ont fait, a mentionné Gill au milieu d'une meute d'amateurs comblés. Nous souhaitons représenter fièrement cette ville et c'est en s'impliquant de cette façon que les gens vont finir par nous adopter. La cause était honorable et nous sommes tous très heureux d'avoir pu être ici aujourd'hui.» ("It was great to be part of this charitable event ... and to see people reacting to some great basketball for a worthwhile cause.")

With a contest against the Quebec Kebs at the Pavillion de la Jeunesse, the Sasquat'ch's Randy Gill was held to an uncharacteristically low 13 points. However, that didn't stop his teammate, Jamaal Wise, from dropping 35 points on the Kebs, leading Montreal to a much-needed 95-73 win over their provincial rivals. Louis-Patrick Levros' 23 points were also tops for the Sasquat'ch. Despite being limited to 13 points, Gill dished out nine assists and had four steals.

Unfortunately, the Sasquat'ch could not take that momentum forward, as they were pummeled 103-78 on the road by the Vermont Frost Heaves. In the Sasquat'ch loss, Louis-Patrick Levros led the team with 19 points; Xavier Morton finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Randy Gill finished with nine points, all of which came from shots from beyond three-point range.

Quebec Kebs

300 rue Métivier,

Québec, QC G1M 3Y9

Office: 418-780-4850

Fax: 418-780-4858

Head coach: Charles Dubé-Brais

Home arena: Pavillon de la Jeunesse

kebsdequebec.com

On Saturday night, the Quebec Kebs welcomed the Montreal Sasquat'ch to the Pavillion de la Jeunesse. Sadly, the Kebs finished on the short end of a 95-73 loss to Montreal, with the Kebs' 73 points only the second-lowest output in PBL history. Michael Anderson did score 19 points, while Dominique Soucy added 14. Jonas Pierre led the Kebs with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Rochester Razorsharks

39 State Street, Suite 100

Rochester NY 14614

Office: (585) 232-9190

Fax: (585) 232-8086

Head Coach: Rod Baker

Home Venue: Blue Cross Arena

razorsharks.com

If the Rochester Razorsharks wanted to change their fortunes around, it would have to be done on the road. And on Thursday night, the Sharks sunk the Mid-Michigan Destroyers with a commanding 119-82 triumph, pushing the Sharks above the .500 mark for the first time this season. James "Mook" Reaves, the PBL's recent Player of the Week, led the Sharks with 20 points in the win; Aaron Williams added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Keith Friel added four second-half three pointers, as his 14 points helped the Razorsharks cruise with a third quarter 23-9 run.

Rochester returned to Blue Cross Arena for a Sunday afternoon battle with the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, and with six of ten Razorsharks in double figures, Rochester took a 115-95 triumph, pulling them within half a game of the Augusta Groove for the PBL Eastern Division lead. Sammy Monroe was the top scorer for Rochester, with 19 points; James "Mook" Reaves powered 13 points and 10 rebounds. Keith Friel (16 pts) finished with three more 3-pointers in the win.

Vermont Frost Heaves

4049 Williston Road

South Burlington VT 05403

Phone: (802) 860-0082

Fax: (802) 860-0085

Head coach: Will Voigt

Home arenas: Burlington Memorial Auditorium; Barre Municipal Auditorium

vermontfrostheaves.com

The Frost Heaves' Saturday afternoon opponent may have been the Halifax Rainmen, but it was Vermont's Joe Nixon that provided the downpour, as his eight three-pointers and 36 total points guided Vermont to a 122-110 victory over Halifax. Greg Plummer, who finished the night with 30 points, drained six three-pointers of his own. Brandon Cole put together a double-double of 13 rebounds and 13 points.

Nixon continued his hot shooting Sunday afternoon against the Montreal Sasquat'ch, as he hit five three-pointers for 15 points in Vermont's 103-78 victory. Brandon Cole led Vermont with 17 points; while Anthony Kyle also tied Nixon with 15 points. The Vermont bench outscored Montreal's 50-19 in the victory. "We're moving the ball a little bit better and playing as a team," said Nixon to the Barre Montpelier Times Argus. "We finally don't have players coming in and out, so we're feeling each other out and seeing what we like to do. We're building our team chemistry and that leads to more ball movement and more open shots."

Wilmington Sea Dawgs

430 Eastwood Road, Suite 200

Wilmington NC 28403

Office: (910) 791-5523

Fax: (910) 256-4589

Head coach: Dale Kuhl

Home arena: Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center, Cape Fear CC

wilmingtonseadawgs.com

It was a two-game, two-day New York road trip for the Sea Dawgs, as they traveled to the Koessler Center for a game against the Buffalo Stampede. Thanks to a solid run by Cedric McGinnis, who led the Dawgs with 21 points, Wilmington sailed out of Buffalo with a 92-82 triumph. McGinnis also had seven assists for Wilmington. Kadiri Richard was the top rebounder for Wilmington, with twelve boards.

One day and an hour ride east on the New York State Thruway, the Sea Dawgs entered Blue Cross Arena with hopes of defeating Rochester again this year - but although Wilmington got off to an early run in the game, Rochester quickly caught up and surpassed the Sea Dawgs, defeating Wilmington 115-95. In the loss, Cedric McGinnis finished with 27 points, including going 5-for-7 from three point range; McGinnis also had seven rebounds and six assists. Jermaine Williams pulled off four steals for the Sea Dawgs.

Game reports compiled via team press releases, and from articles appearing in newspapers from the teams' home locations.

PBL TRIPLE DOUBLES

1/4/09, Jonas Pierre, Quebec vs. Manchester, 12 pts, 14 rebs, 11 blocks

PBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jan 4 Brian Silverhorn, Halifax Rainmen

Jan 11 AJ Millen, Augusta Groove

Jan 18 Cedric McGinnis, Wilmington Sea Dawgs

Jan 25 James "Mook" Reaves, Rochester Razorsharks

PBL "FOUR SCORE" HALFCOURT BASKETS

A "Four Score" shot occurs when a player completes a successful field goal from beyond halfcourt. The team receives four points for such a basket, while, for statistical purposes, the player is credited with two completed two-point field goals. A list of all successful "Four Scores" for the 2008-09 season are listed below.

1/2/09, Willie Mitchell, Detroit v. Mid-Michigan (4th quarter)

1/8/09, Alex Harper, Wilmington at Battle Creek (4th quarter)

1/9/09, Randy Gill, Montreal at Vermont (3rd quarter)

PBL TRANSACTIONS

January 22 Mid-Michigan Destroyers - Signs Marcus Skinner and Travis Lewis. releases Frank Gojcaj and Jeff Jayson.

Rochester Razorsharks - Signs Isiah Ewing and Tre' Whitted. Releases Steve Hailey and Melvin Council.

Vermont Frost Heaves - Signs Anthony Kyle and BJ Robertson. Activates John Bryant off injured reserve. Placed Regis Kounjia on injured reserve.

January 23 Buffalo Stampde - Signs Anthony Slater and Robert Sharpe. Releases Nick Perioli and Lamar Castille.

January 27 Montreal Sasquat'ch - Suspends Manix Auriential for remainder of season.

Manchester Millrats - Signs Kenyon Gamble. Releases Ifesinachi Anosike.

January 28 Halifax Rainmen - Signs Tony Bennett. Releases SirValiant Brown.

January 29 Detroit Panthers - Signs Walt Waters. Releases Jasen Hunt and Micah Kirstein.

PBL BROADCAST SCHEDULE

@SPORTSTV (http://www.at-sportstv.com)

Saturday, February 7 Mid-Mich. at Rochester, 7:35est

Sunday, February 8 Vermont at Halifax, 3:00est

Friday, February 13 Detroit at Halifax, 5:00est

Sunday, February 15 Quebec at Halifax, 1:00est

Monday, February 16 Augusta at Rochester, 5:05est

Friday, February 20 Vermont at Halifax, 6:00est

Saturday, February 21 Mid-Mich. at Rochester, 2:05est

Sunday, March 22 Manchester at Halifax, 1:00est

Saturday, March 14 Augusta at Rochester, 2:05est

Tuesday, March 17 Wilmington at Rochester, 7:05est

Sunday, March 22 Buffalo at Rochester, 1:05est

Saturday, March 28 Montreal at Halifax, 6:00est

Saturday, March 28 Chicago at Rochester, 2:05est

Premier Basketball League Stories from February 2, 2009

• PBL Weekly Report - PBL

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