Los Angeles beat Idaho, huh? I really didn't see that one coming. Iowa cruised to an easy win against Tulsa to win their fourth straight, and Erie have lost straight with their defeat at the hands of Colorado last night. The D-League is alive, and we have a new five inches of snow on the ground here in Fort Wayne. Boomshakalaka.
Recaps of each game; just click right down there. Ya know you wanna.
Los Angeles Defenders (6-18) 106 Idaho Stampede (17-8) 103
I, like everyone else, declined to watch this game. Usually when the best team recordwise, plays the worst one, you can pretty much guarantee the outcome. Well not in this league, folks. The D-Fenders clawed their way back from a 17 point deficit for the in overtime. LA's Longar Longar (yeah, I never heard of him either) came off the bench and had quite a night. 21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks. Keep an eye on him; plus, he has a name you aren't going to forget anytime soon. Idaho's Lance Allred was ejected late in the fourth. Classy. Idaho shot 38% as a team on the night. You really gotta expect better from these guys, even without Coby Karl in the lineup (however they did assist on 26 of their 35 buckets). Idaho's Brent Petway had 17 points and 6 rejections in his 28 minutes before he fouled out and Luke Jackson went 5 for 8 from behind the arc for 31 points. Dwayne Jones is worth noting as well. Dude had 18 points and 14 boards. Everyone loves a good double-double. Los Angeles fought hard for this one and Dwayne Mitchell had 23 points in the win. Brandon Heath, though? Seven turnovers. Seven.
Iowa Energy (15-6) 91 Tulsa 66ers (6-17) 78
This is another game you could pretty much count on; and this one happened to actually turn out the way we thought. Iowa led by as many as 29 and outrebounded the 66ers 52-39. Without Courtney Sims. Tulsa's 18 turnovers didn't help either. What a mess. Not to mention both teams were mediocre offensively; Tulsa was 39% and Iowa was 41% from the field. Ew. The Energy's Curtis Stinson didn't help matters with his 3 for 15 shooting and Brian Evans made things harder than they should have been with his seven turnovers (come on Brian, I vouched for you last week; why show me up like this?). Iowa had their bright spots though (plus, ya know, they won the damn game) with Cartier Martin erupting for 31 points and 11 boards, which were lovely packaged up with Othyus Jeffers' 19 points and 9 rebounds. Though, it needs to be noted that Tulsa's Moses Ehambe came off the bench last night to score 21 in 25 minutes. Ridiculous.
Colorado 14ers (14-7) 114 Erie Bayhawks (11-15) 110
Erie's just not getting it done lately. 7 straight losses? That would get anyone down. The Bayhawks shot the ball better but lost the battle of the glass 46-34. Erie's Clifford Clinkscales (another guy with an awesome name; we may have less talent but the D-League has much better names than the NBA) had 11 dimes and Erik Daniels had 33 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals in the loss. But that can be ruined when you miss two important treys at the end of the game and turn the ball over five times. But still. The kid is good. Colorado won this one with two starters out (Billy Thomas and Josh Davis - the latter of which isn't helping my "better names than the NBA" argument. I mean, I just did some research and there are 29 guys named Josh Davis who work in the local mall. Billy Thomas isn't much better. Essentially what I'm saying here: You have very, very common names) and while shooting an ugly 7 for 30 from Treytah. Colorado rookie Trey Gilder had a career night with 33 points, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. You can thank him for the win. Eddie Gill also had 9 dimes as a side to his 24 points and Jamar Brown had 14 monster boards with his 17 points. And yes, guard Dominique Coleman also had a double-double for the 14ers with his 22 and 11. Colorado's looking good. Vernon Hamilton saw his first action in a 14ers uniform, playing 6 minutes, grabbing two boards, and turning the ball over once. He'll be okay though.
My girlfriend's cats are really good at opening doors. They've managed to scare me half to death twice just this morning. So, if I've been scared half to death TWICE...what does that mean? The Stampede take on the Bayhawks tonight for our only game of the night, and both teams are hungry for a win. Idaho dropped one they should have had, and Erie needs to stop their losing ways. This should be a good one. Ah, now her dog just walked in here. That scared me too. It's like the zoo.
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