Top Four Seeds Triumph
June 27, 2003 - United States Basketball League (USBL) News Release
DODGE CITY, KS â The United States Basketball League, Inc. (USBL) opened up the 11th Annual Post-Season Festival today with four exciting games. A wrap up of each game is as follows:
The opening game of the 11th annual Post-Season Festival pitted divisional rivals Brooklyn Kings versus the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. The Kings led after the 1st Period 34-27 behind the efforts of Lenny Cooke (15 points) and Fred Williams (11 points). The ValleyDawgs came roaring back to win the 2nd quarter 33-28 to trail only by 2 at the half. Ronnie Fields had 14 points and Olden Polynice had 13 rebounds at the half.
A close 3rd quarter kept the game close but the ValleyDawgs still trailed the Kings 91-85. At the start of the 4th quarter the Kings hit a wall and the ValleyDawgs came roaring back and they pulled out the victory 122-116. Leaders for the ValleyDawgs were Ace Custis with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Tim Winn had 26 points. Olden Polynice had 21 rebounds, good for third best in USBL Playoff history. The Kings were led by USBL Rookie of the Year Lenny Cooke with 26 points. Anthony Glover had 23 points and Fred Williams chipped in with 22 points.
The Westchester Wildfire became the second team to advance to the USBL Post-Season Festival Semi-Finals with a 97-94 victory over the Kansas Cagerz. The Wildfire were led by Kwan Johnson with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Lance Williams had 18 points and 7 rebounds in the victory.
In a seesaw battle throughout, the Cagerz jumped out to a 29-23 1st quarter lead. The Wildfire battled back to trim the Cagerz lead to 3 at the half 51-48. A poor 3rd quarter by the Cagerz (14 points) put them down by 6 as they entered the 4th quarter. The Cagerz battled back and had a shot to tie the game but a Jeff Boschee 3 point attempt from 30 feet was off the mark and the Wildfire escaped with a 97-94 victory. Leading the way for the Cagerz was Johnny Jackson with 17 points and 12 rebounds. This is Jackson's 23rd double double in 31 games this season. Lamont Roland had 16 points and Lee Benson chipped in with 17 in the loss.
The Oklahoma Storm put in some extra time as they defeated Adirondack 143-135. USBL Player of the Year Albert Mouring had 40 points to lead the Storm. James Penny chipped in with 30 points and Cypheus Bunton had 20 points and 18 rebounds in the win. Adirondack was led by the efforts of 2001 Post-Season Festival Co-MVP Frantz Pierre-Louis who had 45 points and 16 rebounds in a losing effort. Pierre-Louis' 45 points is good for 3rd All-Time in USBL Post-Season Festival history. John Thomas had 17 points and Chad Wilkerson had 15 points in a losing effort.
The Legend played the last game of the night in front of their home fans and they did not disappoint, as they defeated the Blue Ducks 127-103. As always, the Legend received balanced scoring with eight players in double figures. Artie Griffin had 24 points to lead the way. Griffin also had 6 3-point field goals, good for 2nd All-Time in USBL Post-Season Festival history. Antonio Smith ripped down 13 points to go along with 21 points.
The Blue Ducks put six of their eight players in double figures with Tony Harris being the top scorer with 21 points. Rookie Ousmane Cisse had 19 points and 13 rebounds in a losing effort. Veterans Darryl Hardy and Ike Spencer had 17 points each.
United States Basketball League Stories from June 27, 2003
- Top Four Seeds Triumph - USBL
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.
