Tropics Trump Aces 144-91
January 17, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Miami Tropics News Release
Miami is a vacation hot spot for most people - but not the ABA's Orlando Aces.
With a Los Angeles Lakers scout in the stands watching the action, the Tropics had 6 dunks and drilled the Aces, 144-91, Tuesday night at Nova Southeastern University.
It was Miami's second-largest margin of victory of the season. The Tropics' biggest rout was also over the Aces, a 152-96 win on Dec. 18.
The Tropics are 5-1 vs. the Aces this season and have had their three highest-scoring games against the Orlando team.
Tuesday's game was more of the same as the Tropics trailed only once - at 3-2. Tropics center Karel Rosario scored Miami's first 8 points and finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. The Tropics are 8-0 when Rosario starts.
Rosario and backup guard Ray Rose each had 11 points in the first quarter as the Tropics raced to a 40-26 lead heading in to the second period.
The game was over by halftime, when the Tropics led 75-45. Shooting guard Marcus Barnes, who led the Tropics with 22 points, had 19 at intermission.
"At the half, I was not concerned that we would lose the game," Tropics Coach Ed Auricchio said. "But I was concerned that we would lose our focus."
That didn't happen as Auricchio emptied his bench, using all 12 of his players. Nobody played more than 25 minutes. Leading scorer Carlos Escalera had only 8 points as he was rested and limited to 18 minutes. He did, however, have 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
"I thought we moved the ball very well and played unselfishly," Tropics owner and president Art "Pilin" Alvarez said. "We are really coming together."
Indeed, the Tropics (15-4) have won 4 in a row and 15 of their past 17. They lead Jacksonville by one game in the Southeast Division and are ranked 5th in the 53-team ABA. Next up is a road game Friday night at Palm Beach.
About the only concern is starting point guard Pachi Cruz, who was held to 5 minutes due to his Achilles' tendon injury, which has bothered him the past couple of weeks.
But even without Cruz, the Tropics had plenty of firepower on Tuesday. Rose, for example, finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Jerron McCiskill, playing just his third game for the Tropics, had his best effort yet with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 dunks and 2 steals. He made 10 of 13 shots, including a spectacular reverse dunk on a fast break.
The super-athletic 6-8 forward also showed his versatility by grabbing a rebound and going coast-to-coast with a layup on the other end.
"He can really jump, can't he?" Alvarez remarked at one point.
Another reserve who made a positive impression was wing Eric Wilkins, who had a great deal of fun despite scoring just 3 points. Wilkins played his trademark tough defense and added a season-high 9 assists as well as 5 rebounds.
Guard Andre Smith, who did not play (coach's decision) in Monday's win over Jacksonville, got extended minutes Tuesday and made the most of his opportunity. He had 19 points in 18 minutes, including a 4-point play. He was 7 of 11 from the field.
Wing Rey Luque also got a longer look than usual, playing 25 minutes and getting 10 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.
"It was good to get a lot of the backups more playing time," Auricchio said.
The Tropics shot 71 percent from the field in the first half, including 65 percent on three-pointers (11 of 17). They did not cool off much in the second half, finishing with 62-percent accuracy overall and 48 percent on threes (14 of 29).
In contrast, Orlando was held to 37 percent from the field and 17 percent on threes (4 of 23).
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 January 17, 2007
- Washington named All-Star, Gill to compete in three point shooting contest - Maryland NightHawks
- Arkansas RiverCatz, Waco Wranglers game postponed Thursday night - Arkansas Rivercatz
- Great White North Awaits - Strong Island Sound
- ABA names Darren Cioffi Chief Financial Officer - ABA
- McGinnis Going to ABA All-Star Game - Wilmington Sea Dawgs
- Ex-UVM star Matt Johnson to Headline Heaves' "Seahorse Saturday" - Vermont Frost Heaves
- Two more named to ABA All-Star teams - ABA
- Slam use balanced attack to defeat Buzz, 112-103 - Bellingham Slam
- Tropics Trump Aces 144-91 - Miami Tropics
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.
