Tropics Dominant in Record Setting Performance
December 19, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Miami Tropics News Release
The ABA Miami Tropics shattered their single-game scoring record Monday night, routing the visiting Orlando Aces, 152-96. The 56-point margin of victory is also a Tropics record.
"We had 11 guys score at least 8 points, which shows what type of balance we had," Tropics Coach Ed Auricchio said. "We got a lot of fast-break points and were very unselfish, which was reflected in our 40 assists. We were also the bigger team and we took advantage. We punished them inside."
The Tropics improved to 8-3 and have won 7 of their past 8 games. Their only loss during that span came against Orlando on Dec. 9. But the Tropics easily avenged that defeat and now own the season series over the Aces, 3 games to 1.
Monday's game was never in question. Orlando took its only lead at 2-0, but the Tropics answered with 14 straight points and led 37-16 after the first quarter. They stretched their lead to 70-33 at the half.
The Tropics reached the 100-point mark with 2:07 left in the third quarter and led 111-67 heading in to the final period.
The highlight play of the night was probably Marcus Barnes' alley-oop pass, which led to an Eric Wilkins slam dunk.
The Tropics crushed Orlando 69-41 on the boards and were plus-9 on turnovers (26-17). The Tropics were also consistent, shooting an impressive 58 percent in each half.
The Tropics had balanced scoring with 8 players in double figures. Leading the way was shooting guard Carlos Escalera, who had 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
More impressive was the fact that he recorded season highs in assists (11) and steals (6). It was his first double-double of the season.
Reserve forward Rodrigue Djahue recorded his season highs with 14 points and 9 rebounds as he finally got extensive playing time (18 minutes). He went 6 of 8 from the field and 2 of 2 from the line.
"Djahue played real well," Auricchio said. "He was real active. He earned his minutes."
Wilkins, a former teammate of Djahue's at the University of Miami, also had his season high with 12 points.
Center Karel Rosario, making his second straight start, had 18 points. He is averaging 20 points in his two starts.
Forward Sylbrin Robinson, who has been slowed by a serious flu virus for the past 10 days, was surprisingly strong on Monday with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
The other double-figure scorers were guards Ray Rose (17) and Pachi Cruz (12 points, 8 assists).
Perhaps the best statistic to show how dominant the Tropics were was the fact that Miami scored 104 points in the paint. That is pretty much unheard of in one game.
For more Tropics action, go to www.miamitropicslive.com.
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.
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