Steelheads get quick rematch with Patroons

Published on March 3, 2006 under American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release


The Gary Steelheads continue what has been a very challenging road trip as they face the Albany Patroons at the Washington Armory for the second time in two days. Last night, the Steelheads, after leading almost all of the way, fell to the Patroons 112-109. Playing without CBA All Stars Jimmie "Snap" Hunter and Randy Holcomb, Gary surrendered 75 points in the second half as the Patroons came back from 22 points down at halftime to win 112-109 on a last-second rebound and three point shot by guard Ronald Thompson.

For the Steelheads, it was their fourth loss in five games on the current trip. With the defeat, the Steelheads fell from a first-place tie with the Rockford Lightning in the CBA's Eastern Conference. For the Patroons, the victory extended their season-long winning streak to six straight games. With their win the previous night at Michigan, Albany nailed down the final playoff position in the East.

Hunter was withheld from last night's game while in negotiations with a Euroleague team in Spain. Holcomb, the MVP of this year's CBA All Star Game, sat out his eighth straight game with a groin injury. He is expected to be cleared to practice on March 8th and available to play at Michigan on March 9th.

The effect of having only eight available players wasn't felt until the second half. Gary grabbed the first quarter point of the game 26-23, then sprinted to a 22-point halftime lead with a 33-14 second quarter performance. But in the second half, the Patroons mounted a comeback, winning the third quarter 35-26. And Albany kept the pressure on in the final quarter, closing the gap down to just two points at 4:41 remaining when Ronald Thompson rebounded his own missed three point shot and connected for two.

The Steelheads held onto the lead until 1:01 remaining, when a field goal by guard Antoine Johnson gave the Patroons only their second lead in the game at 109-108. Gary guard Brian Chase then was fouled, connecting on one of his two free throws to tie the game with 53 seconds left. Each team then missed a chance to take the lead, leaving Albany with the ball 15 seconds remaining.

Thompson tried for the game winner with seconds remaining, only to have the Steelheads' Robert Griffin block the shot. Thompson chased down the deflection and fired a second shot, a three pointer, as the clock expired. The shot was good and the Patroons were victorious.

Several Steelheads stepped up with big games, particularly guard Brian Chase who scored a career high 47 points in a losing cause. The performance ranks as the third highest individual scoring effort in the CBA this year. Ironically, the two performances ranking above Chase's effort Thursday night also came in games between the Steelheads and the Patroons (Ronald Thompson scored 53 points at Gary November 27th and "Snap" Hunter fired in 50 points at Albany January 6th).

Four other players joined Chase in double figures, including swingman Robert Griffin with 15, forwards Renaldo Major and Marlowe Curry with 14 apiece and forward Carl Mitchell with 11. Mitchell paced Gary rebounders with 8. Rookie guard Lonnie Randolph (a Merrillville prep standout) topped the Steelheads with 6 assists. Center Chris Alexander played sparingly, with just 2 points and 5 rebounds.

The Patroons, buoyed by a five-game win streak and a slot in the CBA Playoffs, were paced by guard Ronald Thompson, who scored 40 points including 9-for-14 from three point range. Forward Chet Mason added 23 points with 12 rebounds, while forward James Thomas contributed another double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Thomas returned to the Patroons last week after a call-up to the Chicago Bulls.

The Steelheads were outrebounded 52-42 and committed two more turnovers, but good shooting kept them ahead most of the night. Gary shot .506 from the field and hit 14-of-15 from the line for the evening.

Fish Hooks

- Tonight's game is the 10th meeting between the Steelheads and the Patroons, and the Steelheads have a 6-3 lead in the series. This is the fifth meeting at the Washington Avenue Armory, with the Steelheads and Patroons splitting the previous four meetings. The first meeting between these two teams on November 27th, 2005 made CBA history. Albany prevailed 102-101, as rookie guard Ronald Thompson scored 53 points for the winners. Not only does this performance rank as the top scoring performance in the league this year, but it also stands out as the top rookie individual game scoring performance in nearly 60 years of CBA basketball.

- When the Steelheads and the Patroons meet, outstanding individual performances are the norm. The top three individual offensive performances in the CBA this year have occurred in games involving these two teams. In addition to Ronald Thompson's 53 points highlighted above, Steelheads' guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter fired in 50 points in a Gary win at the Washington Avenue Armory on January 6th. And guard Brian Chase's 47 point effort last night ranks third on the current list.

- The Steelheads' nine-game winning streak may be history, but despite the difficult road trip Gary has still won 10 of their last 14 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 currently have a winning streak intact at eight games. They will host the Idaho Stampede at the Sioux Falls Arena Friday night.

- During the streak, the Steelheads defeated the Lightning four times in 11 days. Two of the wins were at the MetroCentre. Rockford has lost only 5 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 3rd. Ironically, Steelheads' coach Jaren Jackson hasn't been mentioned among the site's "Best Pro Coaches Not in the NBA"...yet.

- Guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter had two incredible scoring games on the current road trip, hitting for 44 at Rockford and 43 at Sioux Falls. He has now scored 1,213 points for the season and was the first player to crack 1,000 points in the CBA this year. With his 44-point performance against Rockford on Tuesday, Hunter now has two of the top six scoring performances in the CBA this year. He has scored 41 points or more on five different occasions, with three of them being against the Rockford Lightning at the MetroCentre in Rockford. His 50-point effort at Albany on January 6th ranks as the second best individual scoring effort in the CBA this season.

- "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.

- Prior to his negotiations to play in Spain, "Snap" Hunter lead the CBA in scoring with a 27.6 ppg. average. "Snap" ranked among the league leaders in assists (5.4 apg.), steals (1.9 spg.), free throw shooting (.864) three point shooting (.396) and blocked shots (1.0 bpg.).

- While Steelheads' guard Brian Chase leads the league in foul shooting, "Snap" Hunter has fashioned a foul-shooting string of his own. It began on February 7th, when Hunter went 6-for-6 at Rockford. The string extended through six games, with Hunter hitting 44 straight. Then, Hunter hit 10 straight against the Lightning before having his string end at 54 straight. "Snap" hit 17-of-19 foul shots for the evening. He then followed that with 7-for-7 at Sioux Falls, 2-for-2 at Yakama and 7-for-7 at Idaho . Over ten games, he had hit 77-of-79 foul shots (.974).

- Guard Brian Chase stepped forward last night in the absence of "Snap" Hunter and Randy Holcomb with an incredible 47-point performance, 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 .915. Chase now leads the CBA in three-point shooting as well with a .468 percentage. 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 9 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 9.6 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 second in the league in blocked shots at 1.7 bpg.

- The Steelheads received a big lift as the second half of the CBA season began. Forward Randy Holcomb finished a ten-day call-up with the Chicago Bulls prior to the 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. Holcomb is currently sidelined with a groin injury and has missed the last eight games.

- Guard Eric Chatfield paced Steelheads scorers against the Yakama Sun Kings February 24th with 23 points, while handing out 7 assists and grabbing 9 rebounds. He currently ranks 7th in the CBA in assists at 5.2 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.

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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American Basketball Association Stories from March 3, 2006


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