Slam advances in playoffs with win over Tacoma
March 13, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Bellingham Slam News Release
Bellingham, WA. Caleb Gervin scored a career high 45 ponts, including 28 in the second half as the Bellingham Slam defeated the Tacoma Navigators, 134-116, in a first round ABA playoff game at Whatcom Pavilion on Sunday night. With the victory, the Slam now advance to the second round and will face the Pittsburgh Xplosion in Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 18. The Xplosion, 18-11 on the season, received a bye in the first round.
Typical of most home games this season, the Slam stormed out of the gate, surging to a 25-8 lead in the first five minutes. The trio of Mike Parker, Brandon Hartley, and Jacob Stevenson combined to score all of the Slam's first 25 points in the game. Tim Ellis, a playoff veteran who played in the ABA championship game for the Bellevue Blackhawks last season, sparked a Navigators rally that brought his team back within five, at 36-31, to end the first quarter.
The second quarter belonged to four players: Gervin, Stevenson, Mike Bush and T.J. Williams. The quartet scored all of the Slam's 38 in the quarter, led by Bush's 11. Bush finished the game with 18 points. Bellingham used an 18-6 run to extend their lead to 19 before Tacoma came back in the second half of the quarter to settle for a 74-62 Slam advantage at the break.
The third quarter saw Tacoma's defense come alive as they held Bellingham to only 23 points. Ellis and Alvin Broussard combined for 15 in the quarter as the Navigators climbed back into the game, trailing by only four, at 97-93 going into the final quarter.
The Navigators kept the pressure on to start the fourth quarter, eventually tying the game at 103 on a Broussard 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining. But the Slam responded with a 12-2 run to restore a double-digit lead, thanks in part to a pair of Gervin trifectas. The Slam and Navigators traded baskets the rest of the way and Tacoma got no closer than nine points before Gervin closed on the Slam's home season and sent the fans home happy with a thunderous dunk with five seconds left.
Gervin's 45 points led six Slam players in double figures. Bush and Parker tied for second-best honors with 19 each. Ellis led Tacoma with 34 points while Broussard added 27. The Slam now have the week to prepare for their second round match-up in Pittsburgh on Saturday against the Xplosion who were runners-up in the ABA's Freddie Lewis Division. The winner of that game will advance to the ABA's Great Eight Championship Playoffs in Rochester, NY beginning March 22. For more information, call the Slam at 734 SLAM or visit their website at 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.
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