Storm weathers Blue Ducks 131-128
May 14, 2003 - United States Basketball League (USBL)
Brevard Blue Ducks News Release
Enid, Oklahoma â It was a stormy night in Enid for the Brevard Blue Ducks. But there might be a silver lining behind the clouds.
Playing in their second straight overtime contest, the Blue Ducks lost a thriller to the Oklahoma Storm, 131-128.
In a close contest that had 14 lead changes and saw neither team go up by more than 5 points, both clubs showed composure down the stretch until the fourth quarter buzzer sounded with the game tied at 121-121 at the end of regulation.
"It was a great game for the fans and the players," said Derek Howard, Blue Ducks coach. "This game was good for us, or at least as good as a loss can be," he added. "We went through some really tough times in recent weeks and managed to get back on track. It is really difficult to win on the road in the USBL. Oklahoma is in second place in the west and is a real strong team. We showed tonight we can come into their house and compete with them. You've got to feel good about that. This will really help us down the road."
Lamont Turner led Oklahoma with 34 points and 12 rebounds. Albert Mouring, the leading scorer in the USBL and its player of the week the first two weeks of the season, scored 30.
Brevard was led by forward John Mueller who had his best game of the season with 28 points and 8 rebounds. Nat Burton netted 24 and also had 8 boards.
The Blue Ducks now head to Kansas where they will take on the Cagerz Saturday night, followed by a Sunday contest against the Dodge City Legend. They return home on Monday and get a well-deserved rest before beginning their next homestand against Dodge City on Friday, May 23rd at the Clemente Center.
DUCK NOTES: Brevard was hurt by the absence of power forward Darryl Hardy, who missed the team plane for the road trip. Small forward Terrence Shannon, who's with the team in Oklahoma, will miss the last two games of the road trip because he's flying to Miami for a tryout with the Miami Heat.
Down to only seven active players for the remainder of their trip, Brevard signed and immediately activated Willie Davis, who drove in for Texas to join the club. A 6'6" 215-pound forward from Southern Methodist University, Davis played for the Kansas Cagerz last season
To further bolster their roster, the Blue Ducks are flying in guard Brian Taylor who played for Brevard last year, from Venezuela, where he just finished playing his season Wednesday.
In an effort to further strengthen their roster, the Blue Ducks are negotiating contracts to bring back two more players from last season â guard Ricky Moore (6'2" 185-pounds, UConn) and popular forward/center J.B. Reafsnyder (6'10" 265-pounds, Syracuse). Moore narrowly missed making the Detroit Pistons team this year, getting cut from camp the day before the NBA regular season began.
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