Steelheads face red-hot Lightning
Published on December 28, 2005 under Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Gary Steelheads News Release
The Gary Steelheads have an opportunity to pick up ground in the CBA's Eastern Conference, as they host the red-hot Rockford Lightning at the Genesis Center. The Lightning lead the East with a 12-7 record, while the Steelheads are 8-9 on the season in second place. Rockford has won seven games in a row to seize the conference lead.
The Steelheads did not help their cause on Christmas Day, falling to the Michigan Mayhem 96-85 at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon. To make matters worse, Gary won only a single quarter point in the defeat. They have won only two of their last five games.
While the Steelheads reversed their earlier rebounding deficit for the second straight game (42-42), they committed 25 turnovers to Michigan's 15. Gary managed to win the first quarter, 22-21, but the Mayhem prevailed in every quarter after that.
Guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter paced the Steelheads with 10-of-14 shooting from the field for a total of 22 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and passed out 4 assists. Randy Holcomb scored 16 points, and newly-acquired center Chris Alexander grabbed 12 rebounds. Gary had only four players in double figures for the evening.
Meantime, the Lightning were defeating their Christmas Day opponent, the Albany Patroons, 128-112 at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany. Rockford shot .537 from the field and committed just 12 turnovers in their victory.
Fish Hooks
- Tonight's game is the 53rd CBA meeting between these Eastern Conference rivals, with the Lightning having a 31-21 edge. This year, each team has won twice, and each team has won on the other team's floor once.
- Going into tonight's game, the Steelheads are the best three-point shooting team in the CBA. Gary has connected on 134-of-343 shots (.391). The Lightning have hit 50-of-154 three pointers (.325) for the season to date.
- After being outrebounded in 12 of 14 games, the Steelheads have reversed this trend in the last two ballgames. After adding 7-foot-1 center Chris Alexander and 6-foot-9 forward Edmund Saunders, the Steelheads outrebounded Sioux Falls 34-33 and fought to a 40-40 draw on the boards against Michigan.
- The Steelheads' Jimmie "Snap" Hunter has had several of his best games against his former team. "Snap" has 3 of the 5 top scoring games in the CBA this year, and two of them came in games with the Lightning. He is averaging 33.3 ppg. against Rockford. Twice, he has recorded 5 steals in games with the Lightning this year. Hunter has taken the lead in CBA scoring with a 26.9 ppg. average. He is third in the league in steals (2.1 spg.), 5th in three-point shooting (.416) and 8th in blocked shots (0.9 bpg.). The Steelheads nominated "Snap" for CBA Player of the Week, an honor he won the second week of the season. Center Eric Chenowith won the honor for the past week.
- Fox Sports Net is preparing a feature on the Steelheads and "Snap" Hunter. A video crew recorded several practices and covered a Steelheads' game at Rockford, won by the Lightning 124-123. The feature will appear within the program "Hoops," which is scheduled to air nationally on January 13th.
- Forward Randy Holcomb registered his team-leading fifth double-double of the season in the loss at Idaho. He scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Holcomb was the last player cut by the Chicago Bulls in their camp. He currently ranks 8th in the CBA in scoring (20.4 ppg.) and 6th in rebounding (8.2 rpg.).
- In the 106-97 loss at Yakama last Sunday, Eric Chatfield lead Steelheads' scorers with a season-high 24 points. Chatfield hit 4-of-6 three-pointers in the effort. It was the first time this year that Chatfield has paced the Steelheads' scoring parade. He averaged 26.1 ppg. playing overseas in Lebanon last season. He is currently ranked 7th in the league in assists (5.3 apg.).
- Gary's 137-127 overtime win over the Dakota Wizards is the CBA's top scoring performance to date this season. Incredibly, Gary was outrebounded by 34 in this game but still managed to win. Gary has also been involved in the lowest CBA score of the year, holding the Michigan Mayhem to just 81 points.
- Prior to the Sioux Falls game, the Steelheads signed 6-foot-5 guard Ryan Edwards. The rookie was the first round draft choice of the Lightning in this year's CBA Draft. He was an Honorable Mention All-American at NAIA Missouri Baptist.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from December 28, 2005
- Stampede Weekly Update - Idaho Stampede
- Steelheads face red-hot Lightning - Gary Steelheads
- Skyforce Game Update - Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Skyforce Lose to Wizards - Sioux Falls Skyforce
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