D-League Schedule Feb 7

[truebluefan]

Westchester Knicks at Maine Red Claws 7:00 p.m.
Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Iowa Energy 8:00 p.m.
Canton Charge at Sioux Falls Skyforce 8:00 p.m.
Rio Grande Valley Vipers at Texas Legends 8:00 p.m.
Grand Rapids Drive at Austin Spurs 8:30 p.m.
Santa Cruz Warriors at Idaho Stampede 9:00 p.m.
Oklahoma City Blue at Reno Bighorns 10:00 p.m.

 

[truebluefan]

The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, tied team records with 22 three pointers made and 48 three point attempts and never relinquished the lead as they rode the long ball to the 121-108 win over the Westchester Knicks on Saturday night at the Portland Expo Building. With the win, the Red Claws snapped a three game home losing streak. Omari Johnson finished with a season-high 30 points, 19 of those coming in the 3rd quarter.

Maine (19-10) came out firing early, with Ralph Sampson converting a three point play before Andre Dawkins, on assignment from the Boston Celtics, and Chris Babb, in his first game back from a five game injury, both converted three pointers to open up a 9-0 lead in the opening two minutes. Darnell Jackson scored the first six points for the Knicks (9-21), but the Red Claws shot 52% from the field and 57.1% from downtown to open up a 37-19 first quarter lead.

Dawkins opened the second quarter for Maine with a three and Sampson converted a steal and a layup to open a 23 point lead, only to be matched by a Walker Russell three and a Jackson dunk. The teams would trade baskets throughout the quarter. Orlando Sanchez was a spark off the Knicks bench with seven in the quarter, while Christian Watford's five points led a balanced Red Claws attack that saw Maine take a 65-48 lead into the locker room.

Red Claw forward Omari Johnson came out of the locker room hot, scoring 19 third quarter points on 7-8 shooting (4-4 from deep). Russell chipped in 10 for Westchester, but Maine's shooting (59.1%) was on point while their defense cooled off the Knicks (38.1%) to take a 100-75 lead into the final quarter. This is the third time this season that Maine has reached 100 points in the first three quarters.

The Knicks made things interesting in the final 12 minutes, with Thanasis Antetokounmpo scoring 12 points and Jackson adding eight more as part of a 33 point frenzy, but the Red Claws lead never slipped below nine as Andre Stringer, coming off an injury that sidelined him for seven games buried a three with 10 seconds remaining to ice the victory for Maine.

Antetokounmpo led the Knicks with 30 points, six rebounds and three steals. Jackson (22 points, 12 rebounds), Russell (22 points, 11 assists), Ben Strong (12) and Sanchez (eight points, seven rebounds) led the Knicks.

Johnson (30 points, 15 rebounds) led the Red Claws. Babb (20 points, three assists, three steals), Watford (16 points, 9-9 free throws), Dawkins (13), and Sampson (seven points, seven rebounds) led the Red Claws. Stringer, Jason Calliste and Rodney McGruder also had seven points each in the contest.

The Red Claws are back in action tomorrow night at 5:00pm when they take on the Delaware 87ers at the Expo. The Knicks are off until the 17th, when they take on the 87ers at the Bob Carpenter Center in Delaware.

Press release from the Maine Red Claws

 

[truebluefan]

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants staged one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history to beat the Iowa Energy on Saturday night.

Trailing by 24 points in the fourth quarter, the Ants came back and beat Iowa 100-95 at Wells Fargo Arena.

Read more http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150207/SPORTS/150209704/1002

 

[truebluefan]

The Canton Charge (18-14), presented by SecureData 365 and powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers, defeated the Sioux Falls Skyforce (15-13), 101-91, at the Sanford Pentagon on Saturday night. The win is Canton's fourth-straight overall, with the last three coming on the road.

Canton took the lead at 3:02 left in the first quarter and maintained their advantage for the rest of the game. The Charge are outrebounding their opponents 188-124 during their winning streak, including 63-30 on the offensive glass. The Charge came into the game with the top scoring defense in the D-League (96.7ppg) and are now 14-4 when holding opponents under 100 points.

All-Star Arinze Onuaku posted a double-double of 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting with 13 rebounds and a block in 36 minutes. Brandon Paul scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes. The Cavs' Joe Harris added 11 points, six boards, a steal and a block in 28 minutes. Canton used 13 offensive rebounds to help score 23 second chance points to Sioux Falls' four.

Scotty Hopson led the Skyforce with 22 points and two steals in 43 minutes. Reserves Michael Williams scored 16 points and Fuquan Edwin added 14 points and four steals. Larry Drew and BuBu Palo each added 11 points from the Sioux Falls starting backcourt.

Canton returns home to the Memorial Civic Center to face the Reno Bighorns on Thursday, February 12th at 7:00 p.m.! To view the 2014-15 Canton Charge home schedule complete with promotions and special deals, head to www.CantonCharge.com/promotions.

Group discounts are available for parties of 20 or more and Fan Experience Packages, such as being a part of the high five tunnel or playing on the Charge court, are available! For 2014-15 Charge Nation Memberships, game day promotions and up-to-date information, head to www.CantonCharge.com or call 866-444-1944.

Press release from the Canton Charge

 

[truebluefan]

The Austin Spurs (21-9) defeated the Grand Rapids Drive (15-14) in a come-from-behind win 98-93 Saturday during Military Appreciation Night on the SWBC Court inside the Cedar Park Center. Bryce Cotton paced the Spurs with 27 points and six rebounds, Kyle Anderson on assignment from the San Antonio Spurs notched his eighth double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Orlando Johnson (16 points), Jonathan Simmons (13 points), and Erik Murphy (11 points) rounded out the five Austin Spurs players scoring in double figures.

The Drive took a 57-42 lead going into the half, but the Spurs would outscore the Drive 28-11 in the third quarter. Bryce Cotton scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to help the team pull ahead.

Brandon Fields (24 points, 7 assists) led all scorers for Grand Rapids. Willie Reed pocketed a double-double (11 points, 15 rebounds) and Adonis Thomas added 16 points.

The Austin Spurs and Grand Rapids Drive face off for a third consecutive contest at DeltaPlex Arena on Monday, Feb. 9 at 6:00 p.m.

For ticket information and purchases, fans can call (512) 236-8333 or visit austinspurs.com or ticketmaster.com.


Press release from the Austin Spurs

 

[truebluefan]

The Santa Cruz Warriors defeated the Los Angeles D-Fenders 113-98 Sunday night for the fourth time this season, improving to 19-11 overall.

Mychel Thompson paced the Warriors with 30 points, going 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. Ognjen Kuzmic notched a double-double, tallying 22 points and 18 rebounds, while Dominique Sutton also recorded a double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Aaron Craft and Anthony Vereen added 12 apiece for Santa Cruz.

Los Angeles received a strong performance from Jamaal Franklin, who paced the D-Fenders with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Josiah Turner added 18 points for the D-Fenders, while Jabari Brown scored 16 in the loss.

The first half of action was a tightly-contested battle between Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, complete with three lead changes. The Warriors headed into the break trailing the D-Fenders by 4 points. "‹

The second half would see the Warriors get the added boost from Mychel Thompson behind his 16 third quarter points. Los Angeles fell behind by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, as Santa Cruz stayed on top entering the final frame, edging the D-Fenders by 4 points.

The first few minutes of the fourth quarter would be tightly contested, until the Warriors went on a 7-0 run to put Santa Cruz up 98-91 with 5 minutes remaining. Santa Cruz would keep the D-Fenders at a double-digit deficit for the last three minutes of the game.

The Warriors led in field goal percentage (49%-46%), rebounds (54-27), and assists (28-18). The D-Fenders committed fewer turnovers (17-19), had more steals (13-12), and had more blocked shots (6-3).

The Warriors return home to Santa Cruz to meet the Bakersfield Jam on Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente Arena, scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. PST. Fans can listen to the broadcast on the Santa Cruz Warriors flagship station, KION 1460AM/101.1FM, or catch the game on the NBA D-League's YouTube channel, via www.santacruzbasketball.com .

Press release from the Santa Cruz Warriors

 

[truebluefan]

With the Bighorns taking control of the lead early into the first quarter and Jordan Hamilton logging a triple-double, the Bighorns improved their winning streak to three after defeating the Oklahoma City Blue 124-95 Saturday night at the Reno Events Center. The Bighorns look to continue their winning streak tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Bakersfield Jam at 4 p.m.

Cameron Ayers paced the Bighorns with 27 points, three assists, and three rebounds. Ayers went 9-13 from the field and 5-8 from the three-point line. Jordan Hamilton notched his first triple double of the year counting 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Ra'shad James had 16 points in tonight's contest while Sim Bhullar had 12 rebounds.

Semaj Christon led the Blue with 24 points, three rebounds, and six assists. Talib Zanna followed Christon closely with 22 points and 18 rebounds.

Ayers led the Bighorns in the first quarter with 10 points. David Wear tallied six points, three rebounds, and two assists. David Stockton added three assists in the quarter while Bhullar had four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Ayers led the Bighorns in the second quarter with six points. Bhullar notched five points and four rebounds in the second.

The Bighorns went into the locker room at the half leading the Blue 55-43. During the first half, Ayers went 6-7 from the field and 4-5 from the three-point line.

In the third quarter, Melvin Johnson and Ayers netted eight points each while James had six points. The Bighorns notched 32 points in the quarter bringing the Bighorns to a 20 point lead (87-67).

Hamilton led the Bighorns in the final quarter with seven points, three rebounds, and two assists. James and Stockton had five points each. Tajuan Porter had five assists in the quarter. The Bighorns shot 60.9% from the field compared to the Blue's 41.7%.

The Bighorns tallied 69 points in the second half.

The Bighorns return to the Reno Events Center tomorrow to take on the Bakersfield Jam at 4 p.m.

To purchase single game tickets as low as $8, discounted group tickets, or season tickets starting at just $4 per game, fans should be directed to RenoBighorns.com or call 775-853-8220. For more information on the Bighorns visit renobighorns.com, "˜like' the Bighorns on Facebook (/Bighornshoops), or follow on Twitter (@renobighorns).

Press release from the Reno Bighorns