PBL weekly
February 20, 2008 - Premier Basketball League (PBL) News Release
PBL TEAM REPORTS
Arkansas Impact
2600 Howard Street
Little Rock, AR 72206
Office: (501) 821-0166
Fax: (501) 821-0166
Head coach: Todd Day
Home arena: Barton Coliseum
arkansasimpactbasketball.com
The Impact started the week off strong with a 123-107 victory over the Rockford Fury at a neutral-site contest in Chicago. Jeremy Bell had 34 points, including 11-for-12 from the free throw line - the Impact were strong from the free-throw line, as the entire team was 31 of 36 from the charity stripe. Tyrone Davis had 23, and Marco Cole had 21, and Gabe Feagin had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The Impact tried to make it two-for-two for the weekend, but could not beat the Quad Cities Riverhawks 118-105 on Saturday.
Chicago Throwbacks
P.O. Box 1608
Calumet City, IL 60409
Office: (515) 208-1231
Fax: (219) 884-4558
Head coach: Donnie Boyce
Home arena: Attack Athletics
chicagothrowbacks.com
The Chicago Throwbacks defeated the Dallas Defenders 112-102 on Sunday. The Throwbacks were led by Jimmie Miles 34 and Jason Warren 20. "Our guys showed up to play today. We needed this win to carry into next weeks two road games", said head coach Donnie Boyce.
Dallas Defenders
15305 North Dallas Parkway
Suite 300
Addison TX 75001
Office: (972) 455-2883
Fax: (972) 715-2099
Head coach: Chuck Davisson
Home arena: Alfred J. Loos Fieldhouse
defendershoops.com
The Dallas Defenders were unable to close the gap in the West with back-to-back losses this weekend to their West division rivals Chicago Throwbacks and red-hot Quad Cities Riverhawks.
On Saturday night, the Throwbacks avenged last weekend's one-point loss to the Defenders with a 112-102 victory.
On Sunday afternoon, the Defenders missed an opportunity to pull closer to the first-place Quad Cities squad but saw their post-season hopes fade further with a 121-100 loss.
Jacksonville Slam
101 North Adams Street
Rockville, MD 20850
Office: (301) 424-8612
Fax: (301) 738-3709
Head coach: Scott Cooper
Home arena: TBA
jacksonvilleslam.com
The Slam took a trip to Maryland to face the Nighthawks at the Hanley Center. Despite Anthony Lumpkin and Antonio Lawrence finishing with 24 and 23 points, respectively, the Slam were clobbered by the Nighthawks 144-116. Xavier Morton finished with 15 points, while Alex Hill had 9 rebounds to lead the Slam in that category.
Maryland Nighthawks
101 North Adams Street
Rockville, MD 20850
Office: (301) 758-1090
Fax: (301) 738-3709
Head coach: Lawrence Moten
Home arena: Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence, Georgetown Prep H.S.
marylandnighthawks.com
The Maryland Nighthawks hosted the Jacksonville Slam at the Hanley Center, and the Nighthawks tore the Slam to bits, winning 144-116. Warren Jefferson had a big "Nighthawk" night, putting 22 points on the board. Randy "White Chocolate" Gill had a career night with 20 points, and Andrew Washington finished with 19 points. Barry Mitchell led the team in rebounds, with 12.
The Nighthawks would later host the Rockford Fury at the Hanley Center, but even though Derick Payne dropped a team-leading 27 points into the cylinder, the Nighthawks fell 133-121 to the Fury. Omar Weaver and Warren Jefferson had 18 and 16 points, respectively, for the Nighthawks, while David Bailey conked 10 rebounds and scored 13 points for a double-double.
Quad Cities Riverhawks
Beyond The Baseline
1540 W 12th Street
Davenport, IA 52804
Office: 1-866-694-5728
Fax: 1-800-970-2479
Head coach: LaTroy Farrow
Home arena: Wharton Fieldhouse
qcriverhawks.com
The Quad Cities Riverhawks took two victories over the weekend, defeating both the Arkansas Impact and Dallas Defenders in Chicago. On Saturday night, the Riverhawks prevailed over Quad Cities 118-105, with Willie Mitchell and Pihon Johnson each scoring 25 points apiece to lead QC in scoring.
On Sunday, the Riverhawks took apart the Dallas Defenders 121-100, as Keith Gaydon led the attack with 31 points in the Riverhawks triumph.
Although the victories were important for the Riverhawks' postseason prospects, two more events occurred that brought sports and life into perspective. The Quad Cities-Chicago Throwbacks game, originally scheduled for February 23rd at the Wharton Fieldhouse, will be moved to Rockridge High School in Edgington, Ill. The change in venue was necessitated so that the Illinois High School Association's Dual Team State Wrestling tournament could be held that day at Wharton Field House; the event was originally scheduled to take place at Northern Illinois University, but was moved so that NIU could use that facility for a memorial service due to the horrific recent on-campus shooting.
The February 23rd game will also be a benefit fundraiser for the Brandon Ballard family. Ballard, a senior at Rockridge, was recently diagnosed with cancer and had his basketball season cut short due to chemotherapy treatments. The team will hold a 50/50 raffle and will be selling basketballs autographed by the Riverhawks team for $10 with all proceeds going to the Ballard family.
Reading Railers
35 N 6th Street
Reading, PA 19601
Office: (610) 898-9466
Fax: (610) 898-9386
Head coach: Sal Mentesana
Home arena: Sovereign Center
readingrailers.com
A President's Day matchup at the Sovereign Center gave the Reading Railers a chance to improve their record, this time by hosting the Wilmington Sea Dawgs. Three of the Railers' top players were not on the roster for the game against Wilmington - Ira Miller signed with a team in Puerto Rico, and Jerald Brown and Rich Baker left the team due to conflicts with other employment. Still, the Railers were able to defeat their division rivals 105-92, holding the Sea Dawgs to just two offensive rebounds in the first half of play. Aaron Williams, the Railers' top rebounder, scored 25 points to lead his team on the scoreboard; while Jared Mills returned from an injury to add 10 first-half points in the Railers' win.
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
The Razorsharks were not able to get to Wilmington for a Wednesday night matchup with the Sea Dawgs due to weather travel conditions. Saturday afternoon, however, the Sharks were able to take apart the Sea Dawgs in, as a Rochester newspaper reporter called it, the battle of two mythical sea creatures. Rochester won the match 114-84, with a season-high 7 players in double figures, led by Vidal Massiah's 19 points.
Next up was a President's Day contest against the Rockford Fury. Not a problem for the Razorsharks, who defeated the Fury 121-96. James "Mook" Reaves' 21 points and 12 rebounds helped spur the Sharks to the win, while Sammy Monroe added 20 points and Steve Hailey contributed 17. Ron Rollerson added two more blocks to his league-leading totals.
Rockford Fury
5301 East State Street, Suite 114
Rockford IL 61108
Office: (815) 399-4222
Fax: 1-800-970-2479
Head coach: Dave Knickelbein
Home arena: Seaver Gymnasium, Rockford College
rockfordfury.com
Rockford started off the week with a difficult 123-107 loss to the Arkansas Impact in a neutral-site game at Chicago. High scorers for the Fury were Frank Richards with 28 points, Amir Watts having 15, and Daniel Artest scored 13. Reggie George had 11 rebounds to lead the team, and Anthony Simmons was close behind with 10 boards.
On Sunday, the Fury traveled to Georgetown Prep for a game against the Maryland Nighthawks. With Frank Richards leading the way with 31 points, the Fury roared past the Nighthawks 133-121. In 41 minutes of play, Richards was 9-16 from the floor and 10-11 from the line. Nick Michael led the Fury in rebounding with 11 boards, adding a double-double with 22 points. Daniel Artest and Geoff Wing both scored 20 points apiece in the Fury victory.
Then came a President's Day battle with the Rockford Fury, as Rockford tried to improve their position in the Western Division. But even with Reggie George scoring 27 points and 17 rebounds, the Fury were diffused by the Razorsharks 121-96. George was the top scorer for the Fury; Geoff Wing added 13 points, while Frank Richards, Rashi Johnson and Ameer Watts had 11 apiece.
Wilmington Sea Dawgs
430 Eastwood Road, Suite 200
Wilmington NC 28403
Office: (910) 791-5523
Fax: (910) 256-4589
Head coach: Kevin Whitted
Home arena: Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center, Cape Fear CC
goseadawgs.com
With a snowstorm preventing the Rochester Razorsharks from traveling to North Carolina to take on the Sea Dawgs, Wilmington again called for the services of the PBL Travelers. Thanks to a well-balanced game that saw eight of the Sea Dawgs' eleven players score in double figures, Wilmington defeated the PBL Travelers 133-85. Jason Pryor and Dexter Gregory each scored 18 points, while Charles Ward had fifteen. Bruce Brown had 15 points and 14 reboudns, while Zach Herman stole the ball six times.
The Sea Dawgs were able to get to Rochester for their Saturday afternoon match with the Razorsharks, but in the end the Sea Dawgs finished on the short end of a 114-84 score. Jason Pryor was the top scorer for the Sea Dawgs, with 21 points in the game.
The Sea Dawgs next traveled to Reading for a President's Day matchup with the Reading Railers. Despite trailing most of the game, the Sea Dawgs came within one point of overtaking the Railers in the fourth quarter, but fell in the end 105-92 to the Pretzel City crew. Jermaine Williams led in points and rebounds, putting up 32 point sand pulling down 11 boards. Charles Ward finished with 16 points and Jason Pryor scored 14.
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 Wilmington Star-News, and other newspapers.
PBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Charles Ward, Wilmington Sea Dawgs
Charles "Flat Out" Ward is a small forward / shooting guard from St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC.The 6'7", 220 player has spent time in the USBL, the D-League and with the Harlem Globertrotters. This season, Ward currently averages 18.1 points per game, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots, as well as having earned three double-doubles in the Sea Dawgs' first ten games.
MEET THE PBL TRAVELERS
The Premier Basketball League is proud to have, as part of our league, the league sanctioned travel team, the "PBL Travelers". The Travelers are led by coach Thaddeus Hill. Coach Hill boasts an impressive basketball resume having played at South Mecklenburg High in Charlotte, North Carolina, Joliet Junior College in Chicago, Illinois and Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan. He currently is the Director of the Mid-West Basketball Academy based in Wilmington, North Carolina, while working as a coach with ReelSports.
The PBL has coordinated with Coach Hill and ReelSports to make this the official PBL travel team. The current roster is comprised of talented players who have played at the major college and professional level both in America and internationally the current roster includes:
20 Yah Ya Kaazim 6'3 195 Livingston College
33 Morton Dowdy 6'2 185 Cape Fear C.C.
22 Shaun Collins 6'3 205 Coastal Carolina
40 Travis Corpening 6'2 190 UNC Wilmington
30 DeJuan Green 6'4 195 BCC Junior College
25 Desmond Sneed 6'4 200 Coastal Carolina
20 Daniel Smith 6'3 180 Pender High School
34 Mike Gibbs 6'9 290 UNC Wilmington
32 Chris Shurford 6'2 210 Laney High School
25 Jeffrey Cook 6'3 190 West Forsythe High School
24 Stevie Stucks 6'3 195 New Hanover High School
33 Michael Pierce 6'4 215 Brunswick C.C.
The PBL looks forward to allowing fans of the league to see the Travelers play.
Premier Basketball League Stories from February 20, 2008
- PBL weekly - PBL
- Riverhawks news and notes - Quad City Riverhawks
- PBL at the Halfway Pole - OSC Original by Chris Munson
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
