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Sounds Sweet

December 23, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Strong Island Sound News Release


Selden, NY - On Friday night, the Strong Island Sound gave their fans an early Christmas gift with a 111-101 win over the Maryland Nighthawks. Greg Plummer came up big in the third quarter and propelled the Sound to the victory, snapping a three-game skid.

"It was time to step up," stated Plummer following the game. "Our emphasis in a lot of games is to come out strong in the second half, win the third quarter and put the other team on their heels heading into the fourth quarter instead of us."

Maryland started a quick backcourt with Randy "White Chocolate" Gill and Arthur Lewis. Nighthawks coach Keith Williams was looking to run the floor and make it a fast paced game, and the Sound countered with John "Mookie" Thomas (20 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) and Chris Grant (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals). Strong Island led in the early going and were able to maintain the advantage as Gill and Lewis were replaced by members of the second unit. It was a three-point game after one quarter of action.

Two quick turnovers by Strong Island at the start of the second quarter gave Maryland a boost and they tied it at 33 at the 10:25 mark. Gill checked back in with his team trailing by a bucket, and Williams reinstated Lewis into the line-up after the Sound extended the lead to six with just under six minutes remaing in the half, 41-35.

Later in the quarter, Williams went to a three-guard line-up when he called on Warren Jefferson. Sound head coach Dytanya Mixson countered with Grant, Steve Chase, and Woody Souffrant. The Nighthawks kept up the end-to-end action and were able to grab a 45-44 lead with 1:30 left. Strong Island buckled down and headed into the break leading 49-47.

Plummer (game high 25 points on 9 for 18 shooting, 9 rebounds) came out strong in the third quarter and made two field goals in the first two minutes to stretch the lead to six. Gill tried to keep his team in the game with a shot from downtown with the 3-D Rule in effect, good for four points, and later on another three-point field goal. The Sound kept answering the call, with Plummer making his shots seemingly at will. The 6'4" guard out of Eckerd College had 13 points in the third quarter, and the Sound maintained the slimmest of leads heading into the fourth, 80-78.

Maryland kept using quick substitutions early and often in the fourth, showing a deep bench which kept Gill and Lewis on the sidelines. Blue collar-type work by Strong Island (saves on balls headed out of bounds, offensive rebounds, creating second chances) propelled them to a 10-0 run and a 96-87 lead with 5:50 left. Maryland called a time-out to stem the tide and went back to the smaller line-up with Gill and Lewis.

The Nighthawks were in foul trouble and committed their eighth team foul with 2:55 left on the clock. Clutch shooting from the line by Thomas and Darren "DP" Phillip (22 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) kept the Sound's lead comfortable, and they came away with the ten-point victory.

It was an off-night shooting for the Maryland guard combo of Gill and Lewis, hitting only 7 of 19 from the field and scoring 20 points. Andrew Washington led the Nighthawks with 19 points and 9 boards.

The Sound snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 9-6. Maryland evened out their record at 6 up and 6 down.

In their next contest, the Strong Island Sound will host the 7-3 Quebec City Kebekwa at Suffolk Community College at 7:00 p.m.

NOTES:

The Sound welcomed back two former players from the beginning of last season. Guard John "Mookie" Thomas was in training camp in 2005-06 before signing to play overseas. Shawn "Murder" Simpson played in the Sound's inaugural game at North East Pennsylvania against the Breakers before also going overseas.

For ticket information, please visit www.strongislandsound.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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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.

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