Steelheads begin playoffs Thursday with battle of east and west
March 15, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Gary Steelheads News Release
GARY, Indiana (March 16, 2006) For only the second time in franchise history, the Gary Steelheads are poised to compete in the CBA Playoffs. It begins this Thursday night at the Genesis Center, when the Steelheads host the Yakama Sun Kings. The game matches the champions of the Eastern Conference against the champions of the Western Conference.
The playoffs are the culmination of an incredible season for the Steelheads, who improved from worst in the CBA to first in the CBA in one year. The achievement ranks as one of the great single-season turnarounds in CBA history. Last year, the Steelheads finished at the bottom of the league with a 17-31 record and 135ý quarter points (2.8 QPA). This year, Gary improved a net total of 24 games from 14 games under .500 to 10 games over .500 at 29-19. They raised their quarter point average to 4.10, an increase of 1.3 quarter points per game over the previous year. And the Steelheads won an incredible 25ý more quarters of basketball than a year ago.
The Sun Kings are already off to a good start in the playoffs, earning six quarter points in a 114-108 victory over the Rockford Lightning at the Yakima Valley Sun Dome Tuesday night. Yakama placed seven players in double figures, paced by Ralph Holmes with 18 points and Elvin Mims with 17 points. The Sun Kings forced 26 Rockford turnovers in the victory. The Lighting played without the services of MVP candidate Ronnie Fields, who apparently missed a flight to Seattle and was not with the team at gametime.
This is the first playoff game for the Steelheads, who finished the regular season with three straight wins. In the regular season finale at the Genesis Center last Saturday night, the Steelheads defeated the Michigan Mayhem 104-94. In the process, Gary won its first CBA Eastern Conference crown.
The moment came at the end of the third quarter, when the Steelheads earned ý of a quarter point when they played the Mayhem to a 23-23 tie. In the process, the Steelheads reached 193 quarter points, tying the maximum number that the Rockford Lightning could earn in their remaining game with Dakota. With the tiebreaker favoring Gary, the Steelheads won the East.
Once again the Steelheads placed six players in double figures, paced by guard Brian Chase with 21 points and guard Eric Chatfield with 17. Forward Randy Holcomb tossed in 16 points with 9 rebounds, forward Carl Mitchell contributed a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, swingman Robert Griffin added 14 and forward Renaldo Major chipped in 11 points. Center Chris Alexander grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 2 shots, along with his 7 points.
Tickets for Thursday night's playoff game are available through Ticketmaster, the Genesis Center Box Office or by calling the team office at 219-882-4CBA(4222). Ticket prices remain at regular season rates.
Thursday night's game will be airing in Northwest Indiana over WJOB in Hammond (1230khz) and WIMS in Michigan City (1420khz). The stations will carry the first half of the game live, with the second half delayed following Indiana University basketball. The feed of the ballgame will also be carried by KIT in Yakima (1280khz). SportsJuice (www.sportsjuice.com) will air the game over the Internet, beginning at 7:00PM CST.
• Discuss this story on the Continental Basketball Association 1 message board...
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from March 15, 2006
- Steelheads' forward named to CBA all-defensive team - Gary Steelheads
- Steelheads begin playoffs Thursday with battle of east and west - Gary Steelheads
- Sioux Falls' Noel Felix named CBA defensive player of the year - CBA 1
- Skyforce game notes - Sioux Falls Skyforce
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.
