CBA — Sun Kings fight to beat Oklahoma

By DAVE THOMAS
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Link: http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/sp/295296753468761

By the end of Saturday night's game, as the Yakama Sun Kings dribbled out the final few seconds, they had to feel more like survivors than victors in their first matchup with the Oklahoma Cavalry.

Yet no matter how they felt, they also knew one important fact — they're still undefeated, albeit by the slimmest of margins.

Despite scoring just two points in a nearly five-minute span that ended with 10 seconds remaining, Yakama mustered enough defense and five foul shots in those final 10 seconds to squeeze out a 108-105 victory in the SunDome.

"I don't like much about that game, to be honest," said Yakama coach Paul Woolpert, before pausing to shake his head at another stat line that he didn't like.

"Obviously, we're pleased to get a win, but we need to improve our consistency," Woolpert continued.

Despite the inconsistencies, Yakama became the fifth CBA team since 1990 to open the season with a double-digit winning streak, improving to 10-0 with the 5-2 quarter points victory.

But it was far from easy as Oklahoma used an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter to all but erase a nine-point Yakama lead with 5:04 to play.

Both teams made a couple of free throws to put Yakama's lead at 104-103 with 1:28 left and setting up a wild finish.

Oklahoma had a first chance to take the lead inside a minute, but Elvin Mims drew a charge on Daryn Selvy with 48 seconds left. That provide pivotal later because Selvy remained in the game when Cavalry coach Micheal Ray Richardson didn't realize it was Selvy's sixth foul (CBA players don't foul out, but a technical foul is assessed for each subsequent foul over six).

After Jason Sasser turned the ball over, Oklahoma again failed to capitalize as Curtis Haywood, who had 29 points, turned the ball over with 22 seconds to play.

Jason Forte then tried dribbling out the clock, but with the shot clock off, the Cavalry had to foul, and it was Selvy with his seventh foul, drawing the technical in addition to the two foul shots.

Desmond Ferguson, who had 21 points, hit the technical, and Forte, who had 14 points and 13 assists, made 1 of 2 for a 106-103 lead with 10.9 seconds left.

Sasser then fouled Eddie Smith rather than let him attempt a 3-pointer, and Smith made both foul shots for a 106-105 game with 8.6 seconds left.

Sasser was fouled on the ensuing inbounds, and hit both shots for a 108-105 lead with 7.7 seconds to play.

After a time out, Oklahoma set up for a tying 3-pointer, but the ball bounced off Adam Spanich's hands and out of bounds. Yakama inbounded and Oklahoma chose to let the clock run out and preserve the fourth quarter point.

"This was a great battle between two heavyweights," said Sasser, who led Yakama with 30 points and 15 rebounds. "This was a great, great game. They wanted it as much as we did.

"We made a couple of stops at the end, and came away with the win. It's a great feeling, whether you win by two points or 20 points."

"This was a game of survival — obviously in a very important game," Woolpert said.