Springfield Defeats League-Best Bakersfield
February 26, 2013 - NBA G League (G League)
Springfield Armor News Release
Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Armor, presented by MGM Springfield, defeated the Bakersfield Jam 98-89 tonight at the MassMutual Center. The win extended the Armor's season-best winning streak to four and snapped the Jam's six-game winning streak.
The Armor (13-21) got off to a fast start tonight, jumping out to a quick 6-2 advantage. Just 2:27 into the first, Armor point guard Ben Uzoh suffered an eye injury that ended his night. With Uzoh on the sideline, the Jam outscored the Armor 23-15 to take a 25-21 lead at the end of the first, led by Brian Butch's 10 points. Bakersfield shot 10-of-19 in the quarter for 52.6%, while holding Springfield to 9-of-21 for 42.9%.
In the second, the Armor ratcheted up the intensity on defense. Springfield held Bakersfield scoreless for five minutes and 52 seconds in the period to turn a four-point deficit (30-26) into a six-point advantage (38-32). The Armor held the Jam to a season-quarter-low 13 points on 4-of-21 shooting (19.0%) to take a 44-38 lead into intermission. Carleton Scott led the Armor with 10 first-half points, while Butch and James Nunnally tallied 10 points apiece for the Jam.
The third quarter was closely contested, as Bakersfield tied the game five times in the first five minutes of the period. The Armor broke a 54-54 tie at the 6:59 mark of the quarter on a Willie Reed slam dunk and pushed the lead to five on a three-pointer from Kris Joseph. The Jam managed to trim the deficit to three (59-56) on a Butch layup, but Springfield responded with a 14-6 run to close the quarter, capped by a Reed put-back dunk with 0.7 seconds remaining, to give the Armor a 73-62 lead after three. The Armor buried 12-of-22 shots for 54.5% in the quarter and held the Jam to 6-of-21 for 28.6%.
The Armor led wire-to-wire in the fourth, leading by as many as 13 points in the period. The Jam made one last gasp run at the Armor, cutting the lead to four (91-87) on a pair of Adam Koch free throws with 2:33 to go, but Springfield finished the game on a 7-2 run to topple Bakersfield.
Justin Johnson led the Armor with his best performance of the season tonight in place of the injured Uzoh. Johnson recorded season-highs in points (17), rebounds (nine) and assists (six) while turning the ball over just twice in a season-high 37 minutes. Reed posted his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. Reed buried 5-of-5 second-half shots and has now scored 36 points on 15-of-16 shooting in the second halves of the last two games. Kris Joseph chipped in 16 points with season-highs in assists (five) and steals (five) in 35 minutes, Scott added 13 points in 21 minutes and Christian Polk pitched in 10 points in 21 minutes.
The Armor bench combined for 51 points, but the story of the night was Springfield's defense. The Armor held the Jam, who entered tonight's game averaging 106.7 points per game, to their third-lowest point total of the season, and limited Bakersfield to just 20-of-64 for 31.3% from the field over the final three quarters.
Nunnally led all scorers with 20 points in 29 minutes for Bakersfield. Butch contributed 19 points and 15 rebounds, Stephen Dennis tallied 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 37 minutes and Koch and Damion James scored 10 points apiece in 32 and 36 minutes respectively.
The Armor hit the road for back-to-back games against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Friday and Canton Charge on Saturday, with both games slated to tip at 7:30 pm ET. Both games can be seen on the NBA Development League Network powered by YouTube.
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