Yakama bounces back in big way
By DAVE THOMAS
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Link: http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/sp/290588023371899
In the wake of their loss to Minot, the Yakama Sun Kings were going to make someone pay for their own poor play a night earlier.
Cue the struggling Rio Grande Valley Silverados.
Coming to town with the CBA's worst record in tow, the Silverados were the perfect tonic, and they had to feel that walking into the SunDome was akin to entering a cave of angry bears.
Extremely angry, which Rio Grande Valley quickly discovered Saturday night.
Yakama flipped its player rotation, starting all four available reserves along with regular starter Jason Sasser, and the result was a devastatingly effective unit that quickly washed most of Friday's bad taste out of the Sun Kings' mouths.
The group of Sasser, Moochie Norris, Ray Weathers, Jermaine Blackburn and Anthony Washington opened with a 14-0 blitz in the first three minutes, and scored 22 of the game's first 26 points to trigger a 125-75 rout of Rio Grande Valley.
"They put on a clinic," a somber Silverados coach Derrick Rowland said of Yakama's fifth 7-0 quarter points sweep of the season. "We're a very young team and unfortunately, we're not equipped to counter that type of talent and intensity.
"They lost a tough one last night and took it out on us. This is a tough way to spend Christmas."
"That's the best way I know to put last night behind us," Yakama coach Paul Woolpert said. "That's the beautiful thing about professional basketball. You don't have a long time to worry about the previous game. You have to re-focus immediately, and we certainly did that tonight."
"We've got a good group of guys who stay professional and stay focused," Blackburn said. "We don't hang our head over one loss. We come back and play hard the next night."
That might be understating things just a tad.
Twenty four hours after a poor effort against Minot, Yakama's first after 14 straight victories, the Sun Kings were a completely different team against the now 1-15 Silverados, particularly in those game-deciding first 12 minutes.
In those opening six minutes, Yakama made 10 of 11 shots, with the lone miss on a layin attempt by Sasser. The Sun Kings new-look lineup played the entire first quarter and wound up shooting 15 of 18 from the field (10 of them layins), with 13 assists in racing to a 39-14 lead.
"This was a total team effort," said Weathers, who finished with Yakama's first triple-double of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. "We were (ticked) off about last night and wanted to come out tonight and put that one behind us."
Yakama didn't really let up in the second, hitting 16 of 20 shots, including their final six in the quarter, to stretch their lead to 76-41 at the break.
In the half, Yakama made 31 of 38 shots (81.6 percent), had 25 assists to just six turnovers in posting its single-best scoring half of the season.
"I've never seen that before," Rowland said. "They're a great team; very well coached, and they play well together."
Overall, Yakama set season highs in points, assists (39) and field goals made (52), and tied their best efforts in rebounds (53), blocked shots (11) and steals (13).
In addition to Weathers' effort, Washington also took advantage of his first start, collecting 19 points, seven rebounds and six blocks.
"I think we can officially say Ray Weathers is back (from his injuries) now ... and this might be a coming-out part for Anthony Washington," Woolpert said.
Tim Ellis continued his strong play with 17 points off the bench, and Sasser and Desmond Ferguson were their usual steady selves with 23 and 20 points, respectively.
"I think we feel a lot better about ourselves," Woolpert said.
Next game
Opponent: Pittsburgh Xplosion (9-7).
When, where: 4:05 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh.
Radio: KUTI Yakima (1460 AM).
Series: Yakama leads 2-0.
Notes
MORE STREAKS: The Sun Kings did indeed match the Albany Patroons for the best start to a season in the CBA's modern era, which began in 1978 when the league name was changed from the Eastern Pennsylvania Basetkball League to the Continental Basketball Association as it went from a regional to a national league.
But it turns out those are not the best starts in the 62-year history of the league, which began in 1946-47, according to CBA historian Chuck Miller.
The 1968-69 Wilkes-Barre Baron of the EPBL opened with 15 consecutive victories that season. Wilkes-Barre went on to finish 26-2 and won the EPBL championship.
Yakama also missed a chance to match two other league records, both set in the modern era.
The Sun Kings fell four victories short of matching the 1987-88 Albany Patroons' 19-game winning streak. Yakama was at 15, counting last season's finale, before losing Friday.
Also, the Sun Kings saw their home winning streak snapped at 20, well short of the 33 straight Albany won spanning the end of the '89-90 season (five) and '90-91, when it went 28-0 at home that season.
One side note to that '90-91 Albany team. Not only did the Patroons open 14-0, but they also had an eight-game winning streak in the middle of the season, and closed that season with a 15-game winning streak en route to a 50-6 record.
— Dave Thomas
Box score
Sun Kings 125, Silverados 75
RIO GRANDE VALLEY
MIN FG FT R A PF PTS
Gamble 18 1-2 3-4 1 0 5 5
Dean 41 5-18 0-0 0 2 1 11
Evans 22 1-8 0-0 3 2 0 2
Nealy 42 8-21 6-6 7 3 1 22
Waters 21 0-2 2-2 4 0 5 2
Norman 25 5-13 0-0 2 2 1 11
Smith 25 4-10 1-1 8 2 0 9
Lien 14 0-0 2-2 4 1 2 2
Works 34 5-10 1-1 7 1 5 11
Totals 240 29-84 15-16 39 13 18 75
YAKAMA
MIN FG FT R A PF PTS
Norris 24 3-5 1-2 7 5 0 7
Weathers 35 7-11 0-0 10 10 1 14
Blackburn 20 3-6 0-0 3 2 1 6
Washington 27 7-13 5-6 7 0 6 19
Sasser 27 9-14 5-6 9 5 1 23
Forte 28 5-10 0-2 6 9 1 10
Ellis 28 8-9 1-2 4 3 3 17
Thomas 24 4-8 1-2 3 1 3 9
Ferguson 28 6-10 3-3 1 5 0 20
Totals 240 52-86 16-23 53 39 13 125
Rio Grande Valley 14 27 14 20 — 75
Yakama 39 37 18 31 — 125
Percentages — Rio Grande Valley: FG 34.5, FT 93.8. Yakama: FG 60.5, FT 69.6.
3-point goals — Rio Grande Valley: 2-13 (Norman 1-4, Dean 1-6, Nealy 0-3). Yakama: 5-11 (Ferguson 5-8, Weathers 0-1, Forte 0-2).
Steals — Rio Grande Valley: 6 (Nealy 2, Lien 2, Evans, Smith). Yakama: 13 (Sasser 3, Forte 3, Norris 2, Weathers, Blackburn, Washington, Ellis, Thomas).
Blocked shots — Rio Grande Valley: 1 (Gamble). Yakama: 11 (Washington 6, Weathers 2, Thomas 2, Sasser).
Turnovers — Rio Grande Valley: 20 (Works 4, Dean 3, Evans 3, Lien 3, Gamble 2, Nealy, Norman, Smith). Yakama: 14 (Ferguson 3, Norris 2, Blackburn 2, Washington 2, Thomas 2, Weathers, Sasser, Ellis).
Technical fouls — Rio Grande Valley: Coach.
A — 3,534. T — 2:07. Officials — Mark Riggs, Michael Borgett.
Standings
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
W L QW PTS AVG
YAKAMA 15 1 49.0 94.0 5.88
Butte 11 7 39.5 72.5 4.03
Oklahoma 6 6 24.0 42.0 3.55
Great Falls 4 12 22.5 34.5 2.16
Rio Grande 1 15 19.5 22.5 1.41
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
W L QW PTS AVG
Minot 9 5 36.0 63.0 4.50
Albany 8 4 27.5 51.5 4.29
Pittsburgh 9 7 34.0 61.0 3.81
East Kentucky 8 10 33.5 54.5 3.02
Atlanta 6 10 32.0 47.0 2.93