Steelheads, Lightning Meet

February 21, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Gary Steelheads News Release


The Gary Steelheads travel to Rockford Tuesday night in search of a franchise record 10th straight victory. Gary hasn't lost a game in 22 days, including a perfect February to date. The team's nine-game winning streak is the longest in the CBA this season, while also tying the team record established two years ago.

During the current streak, the Steelheads have beaten the Lightning four times. Two of the victories came at the Genesis Center, while the other two were impressive road wins at the MetroCentre in Rockford. Tuesday night's game will be the final regular season meeting between the two Eastern Conference rivals, with Gary having a 7-3 lead in the season series to date.

The Steelheads were hard pressed by the Michigan Mayhem last Friday night, keeping their win streak alive 107-100. Michigan shot the ball well and succeeded in keeping the game at a comfortable pace. The Steelheads were paced by guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter, who tossed in 30 points with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. He hit all 13 of his free throw attempts, extending his current free throw streak to six games without a miss. Over that time, he has hit 44 straight foul shots. Guard Brian Chase tossed in 19 points in 23 minutes, while guard Eric Chatfield added 14 points with 7 assists. Chris Alexander contributed his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 17 rebounds. He also blocked four shots.

With the win, the Steelheads solidified their hold on first place in the CBA's Eastern Conference with 5½ quarter points, improving their record to a high water mark of 10 games over .500 at 25-15. Gary leads the CBA with a 4.2 quarter point average.

--Get Hooked!-- Fish Hooks

- Tonight's game is the 59th CBA meeting between these Eastern Conference rivals, with the Lightning having a 32-26 edge. This is the 11th and final regular season meeting between the two teams this season, with Gary having a 7-3 lead. Gary has won three times in Rockford, and the Lightning have won once in Gary this season. The last meeting between the two teams took place at the MetroCentre on Tuesday, February 14th. Gary earned 6 quarter points with a 120-111 victory. - The Gary Steelheads bring a nine-game winning streak into tonight's game. The streak is the longest in the CBA this season, 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. - 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 4 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. Tonight, 22 days later, Gary has the highest quarter point average in the CBA at 4.2. Rockford stands second in the league at 4.0. - Guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter has scored 1,092 points for the season, the first player to crack 1,000 points in the CBA this year. Albany's rookie guard T.J. Thompson has joined "Snap" with 1,015 points. Rockford's Roger Powell stands third at 868 points. - "Snap" scored 101 points in 3 games two weeks ago, which placed him just 4 points away from breaking Bryant Notree's single-season individual scoring record of 1,022 points (2002-03). Hunter then broke the record with his second field goal at Rockford a week ago Tuesday night. 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 last week. - "Snap" Hunter leads the CBA in scoring with a 27.3 ppg. average. He now has logged three of the CBA's top five individual game scoring performances this year, including a 50-point effort at Albany and two 41-point efforts at Rockford. "Snap" ranks among the league leaders in assists (5.5 apg.), steals (2.0 spg.), free throw shooting (.855) three point shooting (.413) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg.). - While guard Brian Chase leads the league in foul shooting, "Snap" Hunter has fashioned a foul-shooting string of his own. He has not missed a foul shot in the last six games. Over that period, he has hit 44 straight without a miss. - Steelheads' coach Jaren Jackson believes "Snap" is ready for the NBA. "Snap has proven that he belongs in the NBA," said Jackson, an NBA veteran himself. "He has improved his defensive game to compliment his great scoring ability. Since the beginning of this season, he has shown that he is the best guard in the CBA. I am happy to have been a part of his improved play this season. I have been in awe of Snap's basketball skills since becoming his coach. I mention him in the same light as many of the top NBA guards I played against in my own NBA career. Any NBA team will be lucky to have him." - On February 1st, 2006, the Steelheads traded forward Edmund Saunders to the Albany Patroons for All Star forward Carl Mitchell. 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 4th in the CBA in rebounding at 8.7 rpg. During the season he has ranked among the leading three point shooters in the league, currently hitting at a .409 clip. Mitchell also shoots .505 from the field and .772 from the foul line. Against the Lightning two weeks ago Saturday night, Mitchell picked up his first double-double in a Steelheads' uniform with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Three days later, he added another double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds against the Lightning in Rockford. He hit 10-of-11 shots from the field. He hit the Lightning with another double-double last Tuesday night, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He missed another double-double by a single digit with 20 points and 9 rebounds against the Michigan Mayhem last Thursday night. He then missed another double-double in the rematch last Friday night, with 13 points and 9 rebounds. - Center Chris Alexander turned in two of his finest performances against the Mayhem last Thursday and Friday night. He tied his career high with 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds Thursday, while going for 10 points and 17 rebounds the following night. He now leads the team with 8 double-doubles on the season. Since joining the Steelheads, Alexander has averaged 9.6 ppg. and 11.0 rebounds. He currently leads the CBA offensive rebounding at 3.9 rpg, ranks second in the CBA in overall rebounding at 9.6 rpg., and he is third in the league in blocked shots at 1.8 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. His seven double-doubles is second on the team lead. Holcomb is currently sidelined with a groin injury and has missed the last three games. - Guard Brian Chase now ranks second in the CBA in three-point shooting with a .473 percentage. He is the league's leading free throw shooter at .947, having hit 72-of-76 on the year. His 32 point performance at Rockford two weeks ago Tuesday was a career high. Chase hit 7-of-13 three pointers against the Lighning, including the game winner. - Guard Eric Chatfield continues an outstanding season. He currently ranks 5th in the CBA in assists at 5.4 apg. His three games last week were excellent examples of his ability to adjust his game as conditions merit. Last Tuesday he hit some early shots to get the Steelheads going at Rockford, finishing with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Against Michigan Thursday, he handed out 8 more assists while scoring 11 points. Friday, in the rematch with the Mayhem, Chatfield scored 14 points with 7 assists. - The Steelheads' victory over the Lightning last Friday night marks the second time this year that Gary has broken a Lightning win streak. Friday night's 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. 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.



Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from February 21, 2006


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