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Steelheads end trip in Michigan

March 9, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Gary Steelheads News Release


The Gary Steelheads visit the Michigan Mayhem for the seventh and final road game of their current trip, the longest and most challenging of the season. The Steelheads visit the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon narrowly leading the Eastern Division of the CBA with a 4.03 quarter point average, 3/100th of a quarter point ahead of the Rockford Lightning (4.0 QPA).

The Steelheads should be very well rested, as they have not played since their 115-109 victory at Albany last Friday night. With the win, Gary improved its record to eight games over .500 and picked up five quarter points. Albany saw its winning streak stopped at six games.

Playing for the second straight game without all stars Jimmie "Snap" Hunter and Randy Holcomb, the Steelheads closed ranks and distributed the scoring load among six players in double figures. Forward Carl Mitchell, playing against his former team, stepped up with a 24-point performance. Guard Eric Chatfield added 23 points with 11 assists, while guard Brian Chase and forward Renaldo Major tossed in 20 points. Center Chris Alexander contributed a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while forward Marlowe Currie added 11.

For Gary, it was their 11th win in their last 15 games and their second win in six games on their current seven-game road trip. The Steelheads shot the ball well, connecting at a .513 clip from the field and .474 from three point range. Gary missed just two free throws for the evening, hitting 24-of-26. And, different from an earlier between the two the preceding night, the Steelheads won the boards 40-39.

Historically, the Mayhem have always given the Steelheads a challenge. Michigan has just seven wins on the season, but three of those have come against Gary in Muskegon. During their expansion season last year, Michigan posted a winning record against the Steelheads, claiming 6 of the 11 meetings.

Thursday night's game is expected to mark Holcomb's return to the ball club. The MVP of this year's CBA All Star Game has been sidelined with a groin injury the past eight games.

The Michigan radio feed of this game will air in Northwest Indiana through the facilities of WJOB in Hammond (1230khz) and WIMS in Michigan City (1420khz). Broadcast time will be 6:00PM CST.

The teams will meet a second time Saturday night in the regular season finale at the Genesis Center. That game will air through the SportsJuice web site (www.sportsjuice.com), with game time set for 7:00PM CST.

Fish Hooks

- Tonight's game is the 21st meeting between the Steelheads and the Mayhem. Gary leads the series 11-9, with the Steelheads victorious in 6 of the 9 meetings this season. Michigan has played well against the Steelheads, with 3 of their 7 wins this year coming at the expense of Gary at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon. During their expansion season last year, Michigan posted a winning record against the Steelheads, claiming 6 of the 11 meetings.

- The Steelheads come into tonight's game with a very narrow lead in the CBA's Eastern Conference. The Steelheads are tied with the Yakama Sun Kings for the second best quarter point average in the CBA (4.03 QPA), while Sioux Falls leads the league with a 4.14 QPA and the Rockford Lightning stand second in the East with a quarter point average of 4.00. The first three positions in the CBA Playoffs qualify for two home games in the CBA's first round best-of-three playoff. The three remaining slots will play two road games. To date, the home team has prevailed in the CBA at a .661 average (121-62).

- The Steelheads' nine-game winning streak may be history, but despite the difficult road trip Gary has still won 11 of their last 15 games. The nine-game streak was the longest streak in the league, eclipsing a pair of eight-game win streaks by the Lightning and the Yakama Sun Kings. Rockford also had a seven-game streak this season. Both of their streaks were broken by the Steelheads. The Sioux Falls Skyforce have eclipsed the Steelheads' streak with their current win streak which stands at 11 games. They will host the Idaho Stampede at the Sioux Falls Arena Friday night.

- During the streak, the Steelheads defeated the Rockford Lightning four times in 11 days. Two of the wins were at the MetroCentre. Rockford has lost only 6 games on their home floor this year, with 3 of those losses being to Gary.

- The streak began on February 1st, as Gary achieved their first 7-point road win at Dakota, 113-97. At that time, Gary's quarter point average stood at 3.6. Rockford, sprinting at full speed with what would be an eight-game winning streak, weighed in at 4.5. Twenty-two days later, Gary improved to what was then the highest quarter point average in the CBA at 4.2. Rockford stood second in the league at 4.0. The last three wins in the streak came without the services of forward Randy Holcomb, MVP of the CBA All Star Game, who has been sidelined for 7 games with a groin injury.

- The Gary Steelheads achieved a franchise first on February 21st, when the ProBasketballNews.com web site elevated Gary to the top of its minor league basketball power ratings. In this week's poll, the Steelheads are ranked 4th. Ironically, Steelheads' coach Jaren Jackson hasn't been mentioned among the site's "Best Pro Coaches Not in the NBA"...yet. Former Steelheads' coach Duane Ticknor is listed by the site among its "10 Best Minor League Coaches of All Time." Ticknor won four championships and four Coach of the Year awards in the International Basketball Association prior to his tenure in Gary.

- Tonight's game is expected to mark the return of all star forward Randy Holcomb to the Steelheads' lineup. Gary has been playing without him for the last nine games. Holcomb finished a ten-day call-up with the Chicago Bulls prior to the January 17th CBA All Star Game. He flew to Boise for the mid-season classic and was named the game's MVP, the first player in Steelheads' history to earn an MVP award in the mid-season classic. Holcomb earned the honor, even though his Eastern team fell to the Western stars, 119-110. The 6-foot-8 forward scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a losing cause. The last player cut in the Chicago Bulls' training camp, Holcomb ranked 9th in the CBA in scoring (20.2 ppg.) and 7th in the league in rebounding (7.8 rpg.) when he was signed to a 10-day contract. He has seven double-doubles.

- Guard Brian Chase stepped forward last week in the absence of "Snap" Hunter and Randy Holcomb with an incredible 47-point performance against Albany, his career-best performance in the CBA. Chase was razor sharp from three point range, hitting 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. On the evening, he connected on 17-of-27 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws. Chase continues to lead the league in foul shooting at .918. Chase is second in the CBA in three-point shooting as well with a .465 percentage. He has also moved into the CBA's Top 16 scorers at 14.8 ppg. (15th). His 32 point performance at Rockford February 7th was his previous career high. Chase hit 7-of-13 three pointers against the Lightning, including the game winner. He also handed out 9 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds. February 24th against the Yakama Sun Kings, the 5-foot-10 playmaker not only scored 16 points and handed out 6 assists, but he tied for the team lead in rebounding with 9.

- On February 1st, 2006, the Steelheads traded forward Edmund Saunders to the Albany Patroons for All Star forward Carl Mitchell. The trade has worked out well for both teams. Mitchell is one of the more intriguing players in the CBA, possessing quickness, strength and shooting skill. He currently averages 14.0 ppg. and ranks 3rd in the CBA in rebounding at 8.8 rpg. Since joining the team on February 3rd, Mitchell has achieved five double-doubles and come within one digit of three others.

- Center Chris Alexander has 10 double-doubles this season. On February 21st at Rockford, he scored a CBA career high 19 points with 11 rebounds. He turned in two of his finest performances against the Michigan Mayhem February 16th and 17th. He tied his career high with 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds on the 16th, while going for 10 points and 17 rebounds the following night. Since joining the Steelheads, Alexander has averaged 9.7 ppg. and 10.3 rebounds. He currently leads the CBA offensive rebounding at 3.9 rpg, ranks second in the CBA in overall rebounding at 9.2 rpg., and he is third in the league in blocked shots at 1.7 bpg.

- Guard Eric Chatfield is coming off one of his very best games of the year against the Albany Patroons March 3rd against the Albany Patroons. He contributed a double-double of 23 points and 11 assists, along with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Against the Yakama Sun Kings February 24th, he also score 23 points, while handing out 7 assists and grabbing 9 rebounds. He currently ranks 5th in the CBA in assists at 5.3 apg.

- The Steelheads' victory over the Lightning February 3rd marked the second time this year that Gary had broken a Lightning win streak. That win broke an 8-game streak, while the Steelheads' 118-102 win over the Lightning on December 30th ended a 7-game streak for the Bolts.

- The Steelheads named former Chicago Bulls forward Cliff Levingston to fill their vacant assistant coaching position on February 8th. Levingston played on the Chicago Bulls' first two championship teams and was a fan favorite. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1982 NBA Draft, going ninth in the first round. He retired from the game in 1995. In 2000, Levingston began his coaching career as an assistant coach in the CBA with the Ft. Wayne Fury. In 2001, he served as an assistant coach with the Dodge City Legend of the USBL. After a year as a college assistant at St. Francis, he returned to Dodge City as head coach. His Legend team won the USBL title, and Levingston was named USBL Coach of the Year. During 2003-04, Levingston served as an assistant for the Harlem Globe Trotters. Last season, he coached the St. Louis Flight of the ABA.

- Former Steelheads' assistant coach Kelvin Upshaw has taken an assistant coaching position with the Harlem Globetrotters.

- Last week, guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter signed an overseas contract to play basketball in Italy. He left an incredible impact on the Steelheads and the CBA, including leading the league in scoring (27.6 ppg.) and ranking among the league leaders in five other categories (assists, steals, foul shooting, three point shooting and blocked shots). Hunter finished his Steelheads' season with 1,213 points. He was the first player in the CBA to crack 1,000 points. His 50-point effort at Albany on January 6th ranked as the second best individual scoring effort in the CBA this season. He scored 41 points or more on five different occasions, with three of them being in key conference games against the Rockford Lightning. "Snap" shattered Bryant Notree's single-season individual scoring record of 1,022 points (2002-03) in Rockford on Valentine's Day, February 14th. Hunter broke the record with his second field goal at the MetroCentre in a 120-111 victory. He finished the game with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots. He was named CBA Player of the Week for the third time the following week. "Snap" also hit 77 of his final 79 foul shots with the Steelheads (.974).

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