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This Week in the CBA

December 17, 2002 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Ohio Valley Greyhounds News Release


DAKOTA WIZARDS: The Dakota Wizards jumped all over the Sioux Falls SkyForce early, and never looked back in their 111-77 win Wednesday evening at the Bismarck Civic Center. Dakota picked up all seven quarter points in the victory. Malik Dixon led the charge with 21 points and seven assists. Andy Panko had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Rice picked up a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. In the first of a six-game road trip, the Yakima Sun Kings collectively held the Dakota Wizards in check, winning 101-92 Friday night in the Yakima Valley SunDome. The Wizards entered the game second in the league in scoring, averaging 116.7 points per game and had topped 100 points in 10 straight games since losing 96-94 to Yakima on opening night. Friday, the Wizards shot a solid 48 percent, but they average 52 percent from the field, and they also got off just 72 shots, 10 under their season average. Yakima, which has now won five of its last seven, has allowed a team to top 100 points just once in that span and just twice in the past 10 - the point Damian Cantrell and Fred Vinson joined the team, starting a turnover that has also added Elliott, Paul Shirley, Alex Jensen and Ajani Williams. The biggest effort may have come from Cantrell, Jensen and Rosell Ellis, who combined to slow down forward Andy Panko, who averaged 28.3 points against Yakima in the teams' first three meetings. Panko had 17 Friday and had to work hard for virtually every one of them. Offensively, Yakima also played solid, getting great balance with seven players in double figures scoring, topped by the 18 each from Ellis and Jensen. Dakota got within 97-92 with 43 seconds left but Elliott and Fred Vinson both made two free throws to seal the 6-1 quarter points victory. On Saturday the Dakota Wizards broke open a tight defensive struggle with 61 percent field goal shooting in the second half, as they cruised to a 112-91 win over the Idaho Stampede, taking all seven quarter points. Dakota exploded for 43 fourth quarter points in defeating Idaho for the third straight time this season. The Wizards have taken 20 of the 21 quarter points in those three wins. Rashad Tucker came off the Wizards' bench to hit nine of 13 shots as part of a 24-point effort. Andy Panko had 21 points and 16 rebounds, with 15 points coming in the decisive fourth quarter. The Stampede, held to just 41 percent shooting from the floor, were led by former Wizard Danny Johnson's 23 points. The Wizards (10-3) are in first place in the CBA's National Division and lead the league in quarter-point averages (5.19).

GARY STEELHEADS: For the second straight year, the Gary Steelheads will host the "Cheer for Education." There will be three levels of competition: Elementary (Grades 3-5); Middle School (6-8) and High School/College. They will have a chance to cheer at Steelheads home games and there will be a winner in each division. Each winner will receive a $500 scholarship from the Steelheads ... The Steelheads "Keep Kids Warm Night" on sat. Dec. 14 vs. Great Lakes was a success. Fans from throughout Northwest Indiana donated coats to help less fortunate youngsters in the area ... The Steelheads went 1-2 last week, defeating the Great Lakes Storm 97-94 on Saturday before 3,875 and live television audience on Chicagoland's Television (CLTV) ... It was the first live home telecast ever of a Steelheads game ... The Steelheads signed Artie Griffin on Dec. 9 and Silas Mills on Dec. 12 ... Griffin, Bryant Notree and Steelie, the mascot, visited tow Gary elementary schools – Carver and Drew – on Dec. 13 ... Chris Allen and Nate Blessen visited Michigan City High School and Michigan City Barker Junior High School on Mon., Dec. 16 ... Oliver Miller continues to lead the CBA in rebounding and blocked shots per game with 14.5 and 2.9 per game respectively ... The 6-foot-10 center is third in offensive rebounds with 3.7 per game and is 10th in scoring with a 20.5 average .. Notree is sixth in scoring with a 20.5 average ... Jemeil Rich is fourth in assists, averaging 6.7 per game and seventh in steals with 2.5 steals per game ... Miler is second in minutes played per game with 40.2, Notree is sixth with 38.8 and Rich is 11th with 36.1 minutes played per 48-minute game ... The average age for the Steelheads is 27 years, 10 months with Oliver Miller being the oldest (32) and Dane Fife the youngest (23) ... The Steelheads average height is 771 inches or 6-foot-5 per man ... Oliver Miller is the tallest at 6-10, Jemeil Rich is the smallest at 5-10 ... West Side Girls Basketball Coach Rod Fisher and East Chicago Central Boys Basketball Coach Bobby Miles are the Gary Steelheads High School Basketball Coaches of the Week.

GRAND RAPIDS HOOPS: The Grand Rapids HOOPS began the week on a good note, sweeping two games from the Gary Steelheads, before losing two close contests to the Rockford Lightning over the weekend. On Tuesday, the American Conference Player of the Week, Jerald Honeycutt, led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds for the HOOPS in a 119-98 win versus Gary. The teams then returned to Gary for a Thursday night rematch. The HOOPS trounced the Steelheads for the fourth time this season, topping a franchise record for points scored with 148, in a 53-point victory. The previous record was set in January of 1994 against the LaCrosse Bobcats. Grand Rapids had four players score twenty or more points, Larry Ayuso (33), Alex Scales (25), Honeycutt (24), and Eric Murdock (21). The victory gave the team a season-high three-game winning streak and Grand Rapids was able to take 18.5 of a possible 21 quarter-points in that span. In the game, Kei Madison suffered a severe knee injury that sent him to the hospital. Madison continues to stay with the team, although his future is uncertain. The HOOPS were brought back to earth, as they feel to the Lightning in back-to-back games this weekend, 128-123, 131-130. Honeycutt did continue his stellar performance, however, as he posted 28 points and 20 rebounds, and 29 points and 20 rebounds, in the two games. Larry Ayuso also had an outstanding week, posting 30-plus points in the team's last three games. The HOOPS will face the Dakota Wizards on December 18 and 20 at the DeltaPlex Arena.

GREAT LAKES STORM: The Great Lakes Storm continues to shift. 6-9 forward/center Alvin Jefferson of Auburn (Ga.) was signed yesterday, December 16th, and 6-4 guard Kenyada Dent was waived. Like his recently signed teammate Eric DeYoung, Alvin's size and talent is expected to position the Storm better underneath and inside the basket. This past week, the Storm's winning record has continued to be a long roller coaster ride. On December 11th, the Storm split the series with Yakima 2-2. They came back pumped and ready to avenge the loss they had that Monday. The Storm sent the Sun Kings home without any sunshine, winning 91-88 (5,2). That night, James Head led the Storm with 26 points and 10 rebounds. After their two days break, the Storm traveled to Gary that Saturday with Desmond Ferguson back in action scoring 10 points. Although James Head scored 35 points and Justus Thigpen put up 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, the Storm loss to Steelheads 97-94 (5.5, 1.5). Last night, the Storm had another frustrating loss against the Dakota Wizards, who's been holding first place in the National Conference since the beginning of the season. The final score was 121-109 (6,1). James Head led the Storm with 25 points and 15 rebounds. The Storm's record is now 6-8. They will have a chance to split the series 1-1 with Dakota this Saturday, December 21st at home. James Head has been doing a magnificent job taking on the role as leading scorer. He has been the reason the Storm have been able to stay in the game, by making free throws when the Storm really needed them and hitting three's to make the climb seem not so hard. So it was no shock that he was this week's player of the week. He's averaging 29.7 ppg and 10 rpg. In other Storm news, on December 21st Birch Run schools freshman, junior varsity, and varsity basketball teams will be playing prior to the Storm's game against the Dakota Wizards. The Storm's game will start promptly at 7:05 p.m. A portion of all advance sales will go to the Birch Run area schools. Also, Santa Claus has checked his list twice and will be coming to town early this year. Santa will be handing out candy to all of the good boys and girls at the December 23rd game versus the Rockford Lightning at the Birch Run Expo Center. The next game for the Great Lakes Storm will be this coming Wednesday, December 18th versus the Gary Steelheads at the Birch Run Expo Center. The game begins at 7:05 p.m.

IDAHO STAMPEDE: The Idaho Stampede went 0-2 last week, with both losses coming at home in the Idaho Center. On Saturday night, Dec. 14th, the Stampede lost to league leading Dakota 91-112 (0,7) before falling in overtime to Yakima on Sunday night, 100-103 (2,5). Danny Johnson led Idaho in scoring on Saturday, posting 23 points. The following night, Michael Johnson notched his first double-double of the season by scoring 18 points and dishing out 14 assists. He was the only member of the Stampede to score in the overtime period, tossing in nine points. Earlier in the week, members of the team helped spread some Christmas spirit and donated their time in schools. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Adrian Peterson and Chris Garner read to three second grade classes at Valley View elementary school in Boise. On Friday, Dec. 13, the entire team, coaching staff and front office donated their time by attending "A Christmas Affair", a fundraiser to help the Boys & Girls Club of Nampa. The night's activities included a spaghetti feed, a silent auction and entertainment.

ROCKFORD LIGHTNING: The difference between a 5-2 quarter point loss and a 6-1 quarter point victory can come down to one shot. Ronnie Fields hit that one shot on Sunday giving the Lightning a 131-130 victory and a weekend sweep of the Grand Rapids Hoops. Down 5 with 33 seconds left in the game the Lightning received three pointers from Albert White and David Harrison before Fields game winner with 4.7 seconds left. The Lightning are now 6-1 at home, 7-1 against the American Conference, and 9-1 in weekend games...The Lightning has used the same starting lineup in all 13 games, Carson Cunningham, David Harrison, Ronnie Fields, John Mueller and Livan Pyfrom have started every game, leading the Lightning to a 10-3 start...Ronnie Fields started the season tied for 6th place on the all-time Lightning list in steals. Fields now ranks third after recording 36 steals so far this season. Fields has 183 career thefts for the Lightning behind only Fred Cofield (237) and Brent Charmichael (231). Fields has also moved into the top ten in the Lightning all-time charts in points (10th), games played (9th) free throws attempted (7th) and free throws made (7th)...Albert White scored 66 points in just 56 minutes over the weekend. White is averaging an astounding 43.6 points per 48 minutes. That not only leads the league, but it's more than 10 points over White's closest CBA competitor (Great Lakes' Corey Hightower averages 33.2 points per 48 minutes)...Livan Pyfrom was on his way to perhaps the best 0 point game in CBA history on Sunday. With 4 and a half minutes to go, Pyfrom's line read 0 points, 4 blocks and 18 rebounds. Pyfrom would finish with 2 points and 20 rebounds, seven of those on the offensive end. Grand Rapids may have fell short against the Bolts, but they set a long distance record on Saturday. The Hoops attempted 39 shots behind the arc, breaking the CBA all-time record of 37 set by Oklahoma City on February 1st 1997...5 different Lightning players have scored at least 25 points in a game while 8 different players have scored at least 18 in a single contest...The Bolts are averaging 129.9 points per game. That would not only shatter the franchise record but it's just 3.7 points off the all-time CBA record set by the Rochester Zenith in 1980-81.

SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE: The Skyforce "highlight" of the week was a 111-77 fall to Dakota on December 11th. Corsley Edwards had 17 points, and highly touted rookie Marcus Taylor re-emerged with a 15-point effort. The loss was the Force's lone game of the week. The squad enjoyed some much needed time off (5 days) on their longest off-period of the season to date. The team used the time to heal its bumps, bruises, and egos after a 3-10 start. The Force embark on a western road swing Tuesday with a game in Yakima. They follow that with a pair of games in Idaho. They return home December 25th to take on Idaho in the Force's annual Christmas Night game.

YAKIMA SUN KINGS: The Idaho Stampede made a fourth-quarter comeback to tie the game at the end of regulation, but was outscored twelve to nine in the extra period as the Sun Kings escaped with a 103-100 (5,2) win on Sunday, Dec. 15. The Stampede won the first quarter and Yakima took the second and third quarters to take seven-point lead into the final period of play. Idaho clamped down on defense, though and only allowed the Sun Kings to score 12 points, as the game ended regulation play tied at 91-91. Yakima scrapped their way to a three-point lead with three seconds remaining before an Adrian Peterson three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer, sealing the win for the visitors. The Sun Kings' Alex Jensen led all scorers with 20 points. On Friday, Dec. 13, Rosell Ellis and Alex Jensen each tallied 18 points, leading the Yakima Sun Kings to six quarter points in a 101-92 victory over the National Conference-leading Dakota Wizards. Yakima, the top three-point-shooting team in the league, hit seven of nineteen from beyond the arc, as a crowd of 3,263 saw the Sun Kings improve their home record to a league-best 5-1. Ellis also collected 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Tyson Wheeler hit four of eight from downtown as part of his 16-point effort. The Sun Kings split a two-game series with the Great Lakes Storm early in the week, winning on Monday, Dec. 9 (102-90) and loosing on Dec. 11 (91-88). On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Yakima hosts the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

PRIMETIME PERFORMANCES

James Head tallied 26 points on 22-25 shooting from the field (.733), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals in a 91-88 Great Lakes Storm victory over the Yakima Sun Kings on Dec. 11.

Larry Ayuso of the Grand Rapids Hoops drained a CBA season high 7 three-pointers on 9 three-point attempts, contributing 33 points to a 148-95 win over the Gary Steelheads on Dec. 12. The Hoops' point total is a new franchise record. The previous mark was set on Jan. 28, 1994, in a 146-140 win over the La Crosse Bobcats.

Oliver Miller swatted a CBA season high 8 shots for the Gary Steelheads in a 146-140 loss to the Grand Rapids Hoops on Dec. 12. Miller also scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Jerald Honeycutt of the Grand Rapids Hoops poured in 28 points and pulled down 20 rebounds in a 128-123 loss to the Rockford Lightning on Dec. 14. He also made 6 assists.

Albert White posted 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals in a 128-123 Rockford Lightning win over the Grand Rapids Hoops on Dec. 14.

THIS WEEK IN CBA HISTORY

On December 16, 1995 7-7 Manute Bol of the Florida Beach Dogs blocked a CBA record 13 Rockford Lightning shots in a 101-88 victory. Bol, a native of Gogrial, Sudan, played 22 games for the Beach Dogs in 1995-96 after an 11-year NBA career that saw him twice block 15 shots in a game with the Washington Bullets, the second highest total in NBA history.

CBA TRANSACTIONS

12/16/02
-Sioux Falls waived Korleone Young.

12/14/02
-Great Lakes signed Alvin Jefferson and waived Kenyada Dent.

12/12/02
-Gary signed Silas Mills.

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