Skyrockets Shoot Down Heatwave

January 11, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Minot Skyrockets News Release


Fresno, CA. The ABA San Jose Skyrockets (10-3) went on the road to take on the Fresno Heatwave in a rematch of their last game on New Year's Eve. Although the Heatwave put on a more competitive fight, the Skyrockets again led all the way beating Fresno by a score of 140-121. Despite the relatively long 10-day hiatus between games, the Skyrockets maintained a balanced attack with 8 players in double figures. Jason Smith led the Skyrockets with 22 points, followed by Darius Pope with 19 and Rock Winston contributing 17. Newcomer Solomon Hughes from Cal Berkeley looked strong in his Skyrocket debut scoring 15 points. Quick and athletic Lamar Castile and Anthony Lumpkin scored 15 and 14 points respectively while Joe Buck returned to form with 13. Long-range specialist Matt Luedke dropped 12 points for the Skyrockets.

The Skyrockets led 72-56 at the half but the Heatwave did not go down quietly in the fast-paced contest. Although the Skyrockets went ahead by 13 points at one point, the Heatwave answered back by coming within 5 points of San Jose. However, the Skyrockets responded with tenacity and their high-powered offense to lead 111-85 at the end of the third quarter.

The Heatwave were led with Johnson with 28 points, followed by Cornelius with 24 and Logan with 21. Miller, Anderson and Byrd contributed 13, 11 and 12 respectively.

The Ron Boone Division-leading Skyrockets will conclude their 2-game road trip to Fresno by facing the Heatwave again Wednesday night. Then, the Skyrockets will host the Bellingham Slam at the San Jose Civic Auditorium on Jan 13 & 14. For tickets and more information, visit www.sjskyrockets.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 January 11, 2006


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.

OurSports Central