Sports stats

Strong comeback by the Sound falls short in OT

November 25, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Strong Island Sound News Release


Selden, NY-The Strong Island Sound mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter on Friday evening against the Maryland Nighthawks at Suffolk Community College. Trailing throughout the contest, the Sound were staring at a 16-point deficit during the fourth quarter. After chipping away, they tied the game with 17 seconds left on a three-point shot by Greg Plummer. Eric Branham of Maryland ended the marathon in overtime when he hit a runner and was fouled with 3.1 seconds left and the game tied at 144.

The evening began with a moment of silence in observance of the death of Chris Sandy, the former Strong Island Sound guard who was killed in an automobile accident in Finland, where he had been playing for Kouvot Kouvola. The team also wore black memorial bands on their uniforms.

The game also was the return of Jerome "Fridge" Holman, who played in the same backcourt as Sandy last season. Holman was in the starting five, and the Nighthawks controlled the game in the first quarter, holding a 15-point advantage at the 3:45 mark. The Sound made it closer and trailed at the end of one, 38-27.

The Sound kept themselves in the game with a few big shots, one of them being a basket from downtown by Holman with just over five minutes left in the second quarter and the 3-D rule in effect, good for four points. The unique ABA 3-D rule assisted the Sound once again with 3:11 left when Michael Campbell (40 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 18 for 20 from the free throw line) made a steal in the backcourt and was fouled, eventually hitting all three fouls shots. The Nighthawks were able to keep their lead alive and added to it prior to halftime, going into the break leading by a score of 69-59.

Maryland went on a 15-0 run during the third quarter to make it 86-69. The Nighthawks controlled the period and led by a score of 107-91 heading into the final stanza.

That is when the Sound made their move. "We went smaller to match-up with Maryland's speed," stated Sound head coach Dytanya Mixson following the game. "They were outrunning us. We went to a four-guard line-up with Michael (Campbell) at the 'four,'" explained Mixson describing what changes were made to outscore Maryland 45-29 in the fourth quarter and send the game to overtime.

The Sound kept coming on the fast break and were scoring consistently to keep the game within reach. Campbell sank a three-pointer with 2:14 left to cut it to 131-127. The Sound trailed 136-133 when Greg Plummer (30 points on 11 for 22 from the field) hit a three-pointer with 17 ticks left on the clock for the tie. Marc Karcher of the Nighthawks missed a shot at the buzzer, sending the game into the extra three minute session.

Back and forth the two exhausted teams went. With the score tied at 144, Holman had the ball and was holding for one last shot as the game clock reached under 10 seconds. He missed on his attempt, and there was a scramble underneath the basket for possession. Maryland came up with the ball and Branham had an open court. Campbell tried to prevent the bucket by fouling, but the ball found the bottom of the net and Branham went to the line for one. Following the converted free throw, the Sound called a time-out with 3.1 seconds left and trailing 147-144. Darren 'DP' Phillip (20 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks, 4 assists) got the inbounds pass to Sean Dantzler, who promptly used Strong Island's last time-out, setting the ball up at mid-court with only 2.5 seconds remaining. Steve Chase found an open Phillip, who turned around and was short on the game-tying three-point attempt.

When asked about what the fourth quarter comeback shows about the character of the team, Holman replied, "We showed a lot of heart. We fed off each other's energy. I'm a fiery guy. I lift guys up. We played hard but couldn't bring it in down the stretch."

Holman had a productive first game back with the team. In almost 41 minutes, he went 10 for 18 from the field, 4 for 8 from 3-point range, scored 29 points and had 8 assists.

High scorer for Maryland was Andrew Washington, who had a double-double with 35 points on 13- for 18 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds.

With the win, the Nighthawks (3-3) cut the Sound's lead in the Blue North Division to one half game. Strong Island, 4-3, look to bounce back in their next home game on Saturday, November 25th at 7:00 p.m. versus the Newark Express at Suffolk Community College in Selden.

For ticket information, please visit the Strong Island Sound's official team website, www.strongislandsound.com .

Listen up for the new Strong Island Sound team song while at the game! Keep your eyes out for our mascot, Sheykan Bayke, and our new dance team, the Sound Dancers!

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.



American Basketball Association Stories from November 25, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Strong Island Sound Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central