Rodman, Tijuana Slammed in Bellingham

February 4, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Bellingham Slam News Release


Bellingham, WA. The moment basketball fans in Bellingham had been waiting for finally arrived Friday night as Dennis Rodman and the Tijuana Dragons came to town to play the first game of a two game series. The Slam won the game 115-102 to improve to 3-0 against Tijuana this season.

An overflow crowd, a Whatcom Pavilion record for any sporting event, filled the gym an hour early to take in all the festivities. Though he struggled offensively, Rodman delighted the fans and dominated the boards, pulling down a team-high 11 in 32 minutes of playing time. Rodman finished the game with five points on 2 of 12 shooting.

While many fans came to see Rodman, they were also treated to hot-shooting nights by a trio of Slam players. Mike Parker led the Slam with 35 points while ABA All Star Caleb Gervin and Brandon Hartley each had 24. Brian Dennis won the battle of the boards against Rodman, pulling down 13 in the game.

The two teams started the game playing evenly, but Harold Arceneaux's putback with 6:31 left in the first quarter marked the last time the Dragons would lead in the game, 13-11. The Slam went on a 9-0 run in the next two minutes to take the lead for good. Down by nine after the Slam scored on the first two possessions of the second quarter, Tijuana rallied with a 14-5 run to tie the game at 36-36 with 6:455 left. Rodman opened the scoring for the run by hitting the front end of a pair of free throws. After the game was tied up, Parker exploded with nine points in the next five possessions to give the Slam a 12-point lead, which they carried into halftime with a 55-43 advantage.

Tijuana refused to go away in the second half, staying within striking distance and cutting the lead to ten with 48 seconds left in the third quarter, before Parker nailed back-to-back three pointers, including a buzzer-beater as the quarter ended to give the Slam some breathing room. In the fourth quarter, the Dragons were able to trim the lead to nine after Enrique Zunniga hit a three-pointer with 7:12 left. But the Slam answered back with six points in the next three possessions to quash any hopes of a Tijuana win. Hartley, not satisfied with third-place scoring honors, scored the Slam's last five points of the game on a dunk and a three-pointer to tie Gervin with 24. Tijuana takes on the Slam again, sans Rodman, on Sunday afternoon at 1230pm to complete the two teams' four game season series. Following that game, the ABA breaks for the All Star Game on Saturday, Feb 11 in Florida. For more information, email kip.leonetti@bellinghamslam.com or visit www.bellinghamslam.com or www.abalive.com.

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.



American Basketball Association Stories from February 4, 2006


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