Tacoma Navigators Split Weekend Games
December 12, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Tacoma Navigators News Release
Tacoma, WA. The ABA Tacoma Navigators professional basketball team split two weekend games with the Southern California Legends and the Bellingham Slam to stay atop the Ron Boone Division with a 5-2 record. On Saturday night, the Legends brought their high-octane, division-leading 7-1 record to Tacoma and left with a convincing 127-110 victory over the Navigators, saddling Tacoma with its first home loss of the 2005-2006 season. Forward Jerry Dupree led the way for the Legends with 30 points, including a couple of rim rocking dunks that left the crowd buzzing. Kenny Brunner added 26 and drew gasps from the crowd after some jaw-dropping passes. Jim Rainwater, from Seattle's Chief Sealth High School, took game-high scoring honors with 31, including five three-pointers, while Jimmie Haywood and Rashaad Powell chipped in with 26 and 24 respectively.
Sunday night, Tacoma ventured 90 miles up Interstate 5 to take on Bellingham, and came home with a thrilling, come-from-behind 115-112 win. The Slam took an early lead of 21-10, then fought off a couple of Navigators runs to post a 59-50 halftime advantage. Bellingham held on to the momentum in the third period stretching the lead to more than 20 points on the strength of guards Caleb Gervin and Brandon Hartley and forward Eric Sandrin, a 2004-2005 ABA All Star while playing for the Bellevue Blackhawks who later played for the Harlem Globetrotters. But, the Navigators chipped away at the lead to end the third period, then came rushing all the way back to tie it up at 105 with four minutes to play. The triple threat of guards Jimmie Haywood, Tim Ellis and Jim Rainwater, all former Bellevue players, was too much for the Slam to handle. Rainwater was the game's star and leading scorer for the second night in a row. He poured in 39 points on 13-for-26 shooting from regulation and 6-for-15 from 3-point range and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in leading the Navs' charge. The 6'6" Rainwater was nearly unstoppable, hitting his trademark long, arching shots and grabbing key rebounds down the stretch to secure the victory for the visitors. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.tacomanavigators.com or www.abalive.com or call 206 686 4636, ext. 11.
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.
• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...
American Basketball Association Stories from December 12, 2005
- Xplosion top Ice, 121-102 - Pittsburgh Xplosion
- Rapids Venue for December 13th and 15th Announced - Buffalo Silverbacks
- Razorsharks Move Into First Place After Pair of Wins - Rochester RazorSharks
- Reigning Knights Suspend Operations - Reigning Knights of Georgia
- Tacoma Navigators Split Weekend Games - Tacoma Navigators
- Tacoma Navigators Split Weekend Games with Southern California and Bellingham - Tacoma Navigators
- Maryland Nighthawks' Six-Game Winning Streak Ends - Maryland NightHawks
- Indiana Alley Cats Defeat Pittsburgh for 12th Straight Win - Indiana AlleyCats
- Bellingham Slam Win Streak Ends with First Home Loss - Bellingham Slam
- ABA Announces Players of the Week - ABA
- Gallup Talons Move to 6-0 In Last-Second Thriller - Gallup Outlaws
- Knights Wait for New Suburban Arena To Break Ground - Kansas City Knights
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.
