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Skyrockets Stay in the Hunt for First Place

February 19, 2007 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Minot Skyrockets News Release


Pittsburgh, PA - February 19, 2007 - A month after making some drastic roster changes, the Skyrockets continue to reap the benefits. They won their 11th straight game tonight playing on the road against the Pittsburgh Xplosion.

Minot jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and continued to lead for most of the first quarter. Pittsburgh got their only lead of the game when they got on top 16-14 at the 6:00 mark, but Minot quickly tied it up and pulled in front again. They won the first quarter 27-23. Two minutes into the second quarter, Pittsburgh managed to again tie it up at 30-30, but again Minot pulled ahead, going on a 16-4 scoring run. Minot won the second quarter 29-17 and finished the first half with a comfortable 56-40 lead.

The second half was a thriller with Minot getting ahead by 65-44 just three minutes into the third quarter, but it was Pittsburgh who found themselves in the second half. They battled back to within 8 points and won the third quarter 33-25, but the pendulum continued to swing in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh started out down by only 8, but Minot increased their lead to as much as 16 early in the fourth. The Xplosion stayed in it right until the end and looked like they might take a run at an upset, but they squandered their last possession with 17 seconds left. Instead of taking a quick shot and committing the foul, they passed around the perimeter and wasted precious seconds getting no shots up. Lewis Monroe hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but they were still 3 points shy of the win.

Desmond Ferguson led the team again tonight with 28 points, including five 3-pointers. Ray Cunningham added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and David Harrison had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Corey Minnifield led the Xplosion with 29 points and 8 rebounds.

Looking across the stat sheet, the two teams matched up pretty well, putting up almost exactly the same numbers in field goal attempts and rebounds. If anything it looked like Minot was the poorer of the two teams, committing 29 fouls and 18 turnovers, compared to Pittsburgh's 16 fouls and 12 turnovers. Minot's strength came in their shooting percentage, hitting 51% from the field and 54% from the 3-point line. Although they didn't see it much, they also looked strong from the free throw line, making 14 of 19 shots.

"The players are enjoying the winning streak, but we still are a long ways out. We have some areas that we need to clean up and continue to improve. Albany, Pittsburgh, and Indiana have all improved as a team, and we need to do the same if we want to make a run at the playoffs and a championship," said Head Coach Chris Daleo.

Minot also won the quarter points 5-2, giving them a 4.09 quarter point average. They continue to trail the Albany Patroons who currently have a quarter point average of 4.13. Minot's next two games will be against the Albany Patroons in New York on Friday and Saturday. They will then return home for a double-header against the Xplosion in Minot.

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