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Steelheads ready to rebound from pair of OT loses

February 24, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Gary Steelheads News Release


It's been a rough road trip for the Gary Steelheads, who have lost back-to-back overtime contests during a two-day period. Friday night the trip continues as Gary visits the Yakama Sun Kings in a matchup of CBA conference leaders.

The Steelheads had their CBA-high nine-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night, as Gary fell in overtime at Rockford, 123-100. It was the first overtime loss for the Steelheads, who had won all four of their previous overtime contests. Then, one day later, Gary lost again in a second overtime game at Sioux Falls, 127-120.

The Sioux Falls game started slowly for the Steelheads, who surrendered the first two quarters against the defending CBA champions and trailed 58-51 at the half. Gary could manage just one free throw attempt in the first 24 minutes of the game. The Steelheads bounced back for a 29-26 third quarter win, trailing 84-80 going into the final quarter. Gary then fought to a 111-111 tie, with guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter hitting two foul shots with one second left to force the overtime.

The Skyforce then scored 9 of the first 13 points in the extra session to build a lead that they would never relinquish. Gary pulled within two points at 120-118 when "Snap" Hunter scored a basket, was fouled, and converted the free throw at 1:39. But forward Chris Owens would answer with a three-point play of his own at 1:04, securing the lead for the Skyforce.

It was an incredible shooting performance for the winners, who connected on .605 percent from the field. Gary, despite winning the boards by 8 and getting 16 more shots than the Skyforce, could shoot no better than .430 for the game. The Skyforce finished with three more field goals than the Steelheads on the evening, the margin of victory.

On the heels of a 44-point performance against the Rockford Lightning last night, "Snap" Hunter hit for 43-points against Sioux Falls to pace the Steelheads attack. For the seventh time in eight games, Hunter hit all of his free throw attempts with 7 charity tosses. Forward Carl Mitchell added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while forward Renaldo Major played perhaps his best game since rejoining the Steelheads with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Forward Noel Felix turned in a brilliant performance for the winners, scoring 39 points with 8 rebounds. He hit all 11 of his foul shots, as well as 14-of-20 from the field. Guard Corey Williams added 23 points with 19 assists, while forward Chris Owens added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the winners.

With their second loss on the current road trip, the Steelheads fell to 25-17 on the season. They picked up two quarter points with the defeat, narrowly retaining first place in the CBA's Eastern Conference with a quarter point average of 4.08. The Rockford Lightning are in second place with a quarter point average of 4.02. They play at Michigan Friday night.

Fish Hooks

- Tonight's game is the 20th meeting between the Steelheads and the Sun Kings. Gary leads the series 11-8, largely on the strength of their performance in the 2003-04 season. That year, Gary won 6 of the 7 meetings between the two teams. Last season, the teams split four games. Yakama won the first meeting between the two teams 102-99 at the Genesis Center in Gary on Tuesday, December 6th. They also won the second meeting between the two teams at the Yakima Sun Dome, 106-97 on December 18th. The Steelheads bounced back for a 120-101 victory at the Genesis Center on January 22nd.

- A nine-game winning streak for the Steelheads is now history, following Rockford's overtime win over against Gary Tuesday night. 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.

- 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. 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.

- Guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter has had two incredible scoring games on the current road trip, hitting for 44 at Rockford and 43 at Sioux Falls. He has now scored 1,179 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 1,029 points. Rockford's Roger Powell stands third at 878 points. With his 44-point performance against Rockford on Tuesday, "Snap" now has two of the top five 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 ranks as the second best individual scoring effort in the CBA this season.

- "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 28.1 ppg. average. "Snap" ranks among the league leaders in assists (5.5 apg.), steals (1.9 spg.), free throw shooting (.861) three point shooting (.409) and blocked shots (1.0 bpg.).

- While 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 last night 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. Over eight games, he has hit 68-70 foul shots.

- 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 14.1 ppg. and ranks 4th in the CBA in rebounding at 8.6 rpg. During the season he has ranked among the leading three point shooters in the league, currently hitting at a .400 clip. Mitchell also shoots .506 from the field and .782 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. After two near misses, he added another double-double at Sioux falls with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

- Center Chris Alexander leads the Steelheads with 9 double-doubles this season. Tuesday night 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 a week ago 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. Since joining the Steelheads, Alexander has averaged 9.9 ppg. and 10.7 rebounds. He currently leads the CBA offensive rebounding at 3.9 rpg, ranks second in the CBA in overall rebounding at 9.5 rpg., and he is third 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. His seven double-doubles is second on the team lead. Holcomb is currently sidelined with a groin injury and has missed the last five games.

- Guard Brian Chase now ranks fourth in the CBA in three-point shooting with a .466 percentage. He is the league's leading free throw shooter at .928, having hit 77-of-83 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 Lightning, including the game winner.

- Guard Eric Chatfield continues an outstanding season. He currently ranks 7th 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. In the rematch Friday, 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 Yakama Sun Kings stand second in the CBA in three-point shooting at .403. They boast four of the top six three-point marksmen in the league. Ralph Holmes leads the league at .481, while Anthony Goldwire stands third (.468), Antwain Barbour sixth (.457) and Cheyne Gadson seventh (.455).

- The Sun Kings have the best quarter point average in the CBA at 4.09 (1/100th of a quarter point better than Gary). They have the best overall record in the league. The Sun Kings are the only team in the CBA with a winning road record at 13-9. They have won 2 in a row and 3 of their last 5.

- 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.

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