Utah rallies from 27 down in third to defeat defending ABA Champion Jam
January 23, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Utah Snowbears News Release
Let a sleeping dog lie. Or is let a sleeping Snowbear alone? Utah rallied from 27 points down on the road to defeat the defending ABA Champion Long Beach Jam 118-113 Sunday at the Pyramid. Down 82-55 in the third, Utah outscored the Jam 63-31 the rest of the way to improve their record to 22-0. Long Beach fell to 10-8.
Jack Hartman got the Jam off to a fast start with 7 points early, and Jerry Dupree added 6 to give the Jam a 29-25 lead after one period. Fred Vinson added fuel to the fire by hitting three 3pt shots to increase the Jam lead to 61-51 at the half.
Utah struggled early in the third with its shooting, and Long Beach took advantage of a hot hand by Derrick Dial to run the lead to 27 midway through the third. At that point Ike Austin was given a technical and the talk on the floor was one sided as the Jam let Utah know that the game was over and to be on their way back home.
Jared Ramirez fed Curtis Millage for an alley oop slam in transition, and from that point on, the Utah veterans Alex Austin and Tony Farmer took over and led the Utah comeback. Farmer hit three 3 ¬â¢s of his own and Austin heated up for 9 points as Utah cut the Jam lead to 18. Ike Austin went zone on defense and the Jam went cold, as Utah used its big lineup to shut down the perimeter shooting. Hayes and Tucker manned the guards and used their size to dictate post play on offense as Utah trailed after three 95-81.
To start the fourth, Utah used its depth and conditioning to pressure Long Beach into turnovers and bad shots, while Tyrone Hayes dominated the boards, and Utah ¬â¢s defense held Long Beach to 7 points in the final 7 minutes. Harold Arceneaux hit a huge three, and then added four more points in transistion, and the Snowbears gained 108-107 lead with 93 seconds left. Millage and Tucker made 5 free throws in the final minute, and Arceneaux and Tucker rebounded Jam misses to lock the game away for Utah. Arceneuax led all scorers with 27, while Tucker added 24. Austin finished with 21 and Millage had 15, all in the second half. Tony Farmer had 14 points and Hayes led Utah with 12 rebounds. Derrick Dial led the Jam with 16 points with Dupree and Vinson adding 13 each.
All Snowbears games can be heard on its website at www.utahsnowbears.net and on KMRI 1550am Salt Lake City. For more information, visit the site or call (801) 533-2327 (BEAR), or email at info@utahsnowbears.net.
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- Utah rallies from 27 down in third to defeat defending ABA Champion Jam - Utah Snowbears
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