Regular Season Championship Game

Monday, Feb. 7    Suns 51    Supersonics 42
In the picture to the right, Coach Vint Davis directs his team to the win.
The National and American Division champs both played an inspired first half, in a game that lived up to championship billing. The Suns attacked the Supersonics with a full-court press to open the game and grabbed a 7-0 lead on a Lance Roxas trey and lay-up and another by Joey Geraghty. But after a time-out, the 'Sonics regained their poise and narrowed the gap to 14-13 when R.J. Harper nailed his second 3-pointer of the night. Roxas, the league's regular-season scoring leader with a 22.2 ppg average, fired in 13 of the Suns' first 19 points, while Harper, Corey Styles, and floor leader Dexter Parrish did most of the scoring for the 'Sonics. Geraghty and Chad Richardson took up the scoring slack for the Suns and the half ended 28-27 Suns. After intermission, neither team could quite maintain the offensive excellence of the first half. The Suns clamped down on the 'Sonics outside shooting after allowing four treys in the opening period, and the 'Sonics held Roxas without a point in the second half. It was the Suns who came up with more scoring alternatives. Point guard Matt Long, who had spent the entire regular season setting up teammates, put in 12 second-half points, Geraghty continued to supply big buckets, and Josh Nelson hit a key basket when the 'Sonics threatened to wrest momentum entering crunch time. Total scoring in the game for the Suns: Long 14, Roxas 13, Geraghty 12, Richardson 7, Nelson 4, Matt Weyel 1; and for the 'Sonics: Styles 11, Harper 9, Parrish 8, David Becker 8, Ty Peters 3, Joe Starr 3.

Saturday, Feb 5    Supersonics 41    Wizards 10
The Supersonics had no trouble securing the American Division title against a four-man Knicks squad, in a game called by the referees as "no contest" shortly before half-time. The 'Sonics took no chances by playing tough defense, scoring on the fast break when available, and working patiently for open shots in their half-court game. R.J. Harper led the 'Sonics in scoring with 24 points, including 4 of 5 from behind the arc.

Saturday, Feb 5    Bulls 43    Hornets 40
In the most exciting game of the day, the Bulls denied the Hornets a share of the American Division title. The Bulls broke on top on 3-pointers by Jashawn Wright and Cody Jackson and maintained a 6-or-more point margin most of the half against the slow-starting Hornets. The Bulls suffered a blow when their main post player, Josh Young, had to leave the game with a turned ankle 1-1/2 minutes before halftime. When Terrence Lauderdale connected at the buzzer from half-court, the Hornets pulled within 19-16, and seemed to have found a spark. But Young was able to return to the game to start the second half and immediately connected on a 3-pointer for his first points of the game and Wright quickly added another trey. The Hornets gradually clawed their way back on the board work of Mike Dickriede and big shots by Lauderdale and Richard Windsor. A Lauderdale trey finally tied the score at 31, and the lead changed hands on almost each basket from then on, with Dickriede, Lauderdale and Drew Manton connecting for the Hornets and Young and Corey Shpil answering for the Bulls. Two clutch free throws by Lauderdale gave the Hornets a 40-38 lead with less than a minute to play, but after a Hornet miss on their next possession, Wright nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the game to regain a 1-point lead for the Bulls with 14 seconds remaining. The Hornets got a good look with 5 seconds to go, but missed. Young rebounded and closed out the game with 2 free throws for the final 3-point margin.

Saturday, Feb 5    Suns 58    Wizards 27
Josh Nelson hit the first four baskets of the game, and the Suns were off and running in their last tune-up for the League Championship game to be played Monday night, Feb. 7, at Beville at 7:40 pm. Working the ball well for high-percentage shots, the Suns built a 34-14 half-time advantage and cruised home from there. All the Suns scored, and were led by Lance Roxas with 23 points and Nelson with 12. Matt Weyel garnered a number of rebounds and added 4 points. Josh Prica netted 10 points for the Wizards and R.J. Johnson and Brady Carter had 5 apiece.

Thursday, Feb. 3    Hornets 54    Suns 47
Drew Manton hit three consecutive treys to convert an early 6-2 deficit into an 11-6 lead, and the game was on. The Hornets widened their lead to 19-9, but Lance Roxas and Chad Richardson got the Suns even again at 22, before the half ended at 26-24, Hornets. After a Roxas follow shot put the Suns on top at 33-32, Terrence Lauderdale took over for the Hornets, controlling the defensive boards, directing the offense and nailing a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a Manton jumper. Suddenly, the Hornets had opened a 42-33 lead, and although the Suns cut the lead to 3 points late in the game, free-shooting by Cedric Pickett and Mike Dickriede sealed the Hornets win and a share of first place in the American Division. Manton led the Hornets in scoring with 17 points, Lauderdale had 13, Pickett 9 and Dickriede 8. Roxas led the Suns with 20 points, Joey Geraghty contributed 13 and Richardson 8.

Wednesday Feb. 2    Supersonics 47    Wizards 32
The Supersonics overcame a slow start to grind out a methodical win over an outnumbered Wizards squad. Dexter Parrish began to force the tempo and R.J. Harper warmed up from the field gain a 23-17 half-time lead for the 'Sonics. The four-man Wizards roster stayed in contention with good rebounding and Josh Prica's markmanship, but could not seriously threaten after the break. Prica led all scorers with 18 points. Harper led the 'Sonics with 14, Parrish had 8, David Becker 7 and Carl Stokes 6. The win kept the 'Sonics in a first-place tie in the American Division.

Saturday, Jan. 29    Hornets 61    Wizards 52
The Hornets used a balanced attack to hold a determined Wizards team at bay, and maintained a share of the American Division lead entering the final week of the regular season. Mike Dickriede led the Hornets with 15 points, followed closely by Cedric Pickett with 13, Drew Manton with 10, Ervin Arana with 9 and Justin Meehan with 7. The Wizards' Josh Prica led all scorers with 16, Brady Carter had 12 and Willie Pollard 11.

Saturday, Jan. 29    Supersonics 72    Bulls 34
The Supersonics caught the Bulls at the right time--when the Bulls were able to field only a four-man team. The 'Sonics blew out to a 34-14 halftime advantage and cruised the rest of the way to remain tied for first in the American Division . Joe Starr was high man for the 'Sonics with 23 points, Dexter Parrish added 19, and Corey Styles had 12. Josh Young netted 17 for the Bulls and Corey Shpil 12.

Saturday, Jan. 29    Suns 48    Knicks 33
The Suns avenged their only defeat of the season by grinding out the win in a physically contested game. The Knicks were able to hold Lance Roxas to 13 points, 10 points below his season average, but the rest of the Suns proved fully capable of taking up the scoring slack. Rebound leaders Josh Nelson and Joey Geraghty had 11 and 7 points respectively, and playmaker Matt Long chipped in with 8. Patrick Agee provided some long-range production with a first-half trey at a tight spot in the game. The Knicks--who always seem to field a rotating lineup of just five players--got 12 points from Dan Schall, one of two fixtures in the Knick lineup along with Scott Wiseman. Greg Carpenter, a mid-season addition to the Knicks roster, had 11 points.

Friday, Jan. 28    Knicks 53    Wizards 42
Neither team had substitutes available, and the fouls mounted up, but by the time the Knicks lost a man on fouls with 1-1/2 minutes to play, they had the hard-fought game wrapped up. Dan Schall led the winners with 18 points, including 5 of 6 free throw conversions to ice the game. Scott Wiseman, with 12 first-half points, was chiefly responsible for the Knicks taking a 29-21 half-time lead. Wiseman finished with 13 and Chad Cessna muscled in 14 points. Josh Prica paced the steadily improving Wizards with 15 points and Joel Davidson had 14. The Wizards undoing was their poor marksmanship from the line, where they connected on only 7 of 20 attempts.

Wednesday, Jan. 26    Bulls 51    Wizards 47
The Wizards had the game all but wrapped up with a 41-25 lead midway of the second half. They had widened a 28-21 half-time lead with a series of hustling rebounds, breakaway layups, and second-chance put-backs, with Brady Carter and Josh Prica doing most of the scoring. Then Tommy Hoffman scored his first field goal of the game for the Bulls, Richard Weitzel added a layup and a 3-pointer, Hoffman scored again, and suddenly it was a 41-36 game. Wizard baskets by Joel Davidson and Carter momentarily stalled the Bulls rally, but Hoffman came back with two more driving layups, and was fouled on the second. Hoffman's rare miss of the free throw was tipped in by Josh Young, and the Bulls were within a point. Cody Jackson came up with a steal for the Bulls on the next Wizards possession, which resulted in another Young score and the lead had finally changed hands. Hoffman sealed the Bulls win with 3 free throws in the closing seconds, offsetting the final Wizards' basket by Kyle Conrad. For the game, Prica led all scorers with 21 points. Young had 20 for the Bulls, followed by Hoffman with 15. Carter had 12 for the Wizards and Davidson 10.

Monday Jan. 24    Suns 50    Supersonics 37
Matt Long made sure that the game was played at the Suns preferred pace and that Lance Roxas got the ball in his favorite spots, and the Suns improved their league best record to 9-1. Roxas proved equally adept at hitting midrange and baseline jumpers whether open or double-teamed, and finished with 31 points. Matt Weyel fought for key rebounds and Chad Richardson, Josh Nelson and Joey Geraghty effectively shut down the Supersonics interior offense. The 'Sonics closed with a strong effort behind R.J. Harper and David Becker, cutting a 20-point lead in half at one point, but were never in serious contention after the first 10 minutes. Harper had 12 points and Becker 8.

Monday Jan. 24    Hornets 46    Knicks 45
The Hornets held only one lead in the game, but it came at the right time. Drew Manton's free throw was the last point of the game, but the Hornets still had to survive Dan Schall's barely missed jump shot as time expired. The Knicks played with only five men for the second game in a row, and the short-handedness finally caught up with them. Greg Carpenter, Stephen Beard and Schall had dominated play in the first half which ended with the Knicks up 25-11. But the aggressive Carpenter had picked up four fouls in the half and had to back off some defensively in the second half. The Hornets' Terrance Lauderdale began to find openings in the Knick defense, driving hard to the basket, and scoring or dishing. A trey by Richard Windsor and a 3-point play by Lauderdale finally knotted the score at 43. Carpenter put the Knicks back on top with two free throws, but after a change of possession, Carpenter finally committed his fifth foul trying for an offensive rebound, and Lauderdale sank two free throws to regain a tie with 40 seconds remaining. Now playing with only four men, the Knicks were unable to keep possession of the ball, and Manton eventually wound up on the line for the Hornets, and hit one of two for the win. Lauderdale led the Hornets in scoring with 16 points, and Windsor and Mike Dickriede added 9. Carpenter and Schall led the Knicks with 21 and 14 respectively.

Friday, Jan. 21    Suns 67    Hornets 52
The Suns had all they could handle, nursing leads of only 1-to-5 points most of the game. They saw a 29-24 half-time advantage melt into a 32-31 deficit before Lance Roxas' trey and three free throws restored a 5-point lead. Roxas had netted 18 points on a succession of mid-range jumpers and base-line drives in the opening half. And when the Hornets went to a box-and-one after the break, Roxas answered the challenge with 21 more points in the second half, aided by his teammates' picks and Matt Long's control of the offense. In addition to Roxas' season-high 39 points, Josh Nelson scored 7 and Chad Richardson 6 on follow shots and feeds from Long. Richard Windsor kept the Hornets in close contention with 12 points and recovery of several loose balls. Drew Manton also had 12 points for the Hornets, and along with Mike Dickriede, gave the Hornets a strong presence on the boards. Terrence Lauderdale had 8 for the Hornets.

Thursday Jan. 20    Supersonics 47    Bulls 37
The Supersonics staked their claim as the League's strongest second-half team by outscoring the Bulls 28-11 in the period after trailing by 7 at the break. Ferocious rebounding, particularly by Corey Styles and David Becker, solid team defense and the aggressive floor leadership of Dexter Parrish keyed the 'Sonics victory. Styles was high man for the 'Sonics with 14 points, Parrish added 13 to go with several assists, and R.J. Harper had 9. Though scoreless, Carlos Valdez was an instrumental component of the 'Sonics perimeter defense. Jashawn Wright netted 15 points to lead the Bulls. Tommy Hoffman and Josh Young scored 9 apiece.

Saturday, Jan. 15    Supersonics 42    Hornets 30
After trailing 15-11 at the half, the Supersonics fired out on a 10-0 run to start the second period. Carl Stokes got it started with some key rebounds and a put-back, Joe Starr connected from the field and Dexter Parrish connected on a layup and a trey. Drew Manton finally broke the ice with a 3-pointer for the Hornets, but Parrish countered with two quick buckets. Corey Styles then took over for the 'Sonics by scoring the next four baskets. When the smoke cleared, the 'Sonics had moved into a tie with the Hornets for the American Division lead. Styles led the 'Sonics in scoring with 12 points and Parrish had 9. Drew Manton's 10 points paced the Hornets and Justin Meehan chipped in with 5.

Saturday, Jan. 15    Bulls 63    Wizards 54
The Bulls had their hands full with an aggressive Wizards team, but in the end had too much firepower. Tommy Hoffman converted several breakaways and three 3-pointers to lead the Bulls in scoring with 21 points. But it was Richard Weitzel who seemed to come up with the key rebound or basket whenever the Wizards mounted a serious threat. Weitzel wound up with 12 points and Josh Young added 13. The Wizards played a strong first half, trailing only 31-27 at the break, then slipped behind by 42-30 and looked to be done for the day. Things suddenly changed when Ray Johnson, Joel Davidson and Willie Pollard spearheaded an 11-0 run for the Wizards to get within a point. But after a timeout, Jashaun Wright nailed a three for the Bulls and Weitzel hit two baskets, and the Bulls had weathered the storm. For the Wizards, Styles had 17 points, Pollard 14, Davidson 11, and Brady Carter 9.

Saturday, Jan. 15    Knicks 41    Suns 40
The last-place Knicks announced that they are ready to challenge for a tournament title by handing the first-place Suns their first loss of the season. The Knicks succeeded by running a patient offense--something no other team had been able to do against the high-flying Suns--and by playing tough defense. Scott Wiseman opened the game with a 3-pointer from the corner. That set the tone for the first half, as the Knicks worked for open shots for Dan Schall (two treys) and Ehsan Baig (one trey). Meanwhile Joe Geraghty's 8 points and strong board work kept the Suns even, and the first half ended 18-17 Knicks. The teams traded baskets in the second half, with Geraghty, Chad Richardson and Matt Long scoring hard-earned points for the Suns and Greg Carpenter during one stretch hitting three consecutive treys for the Knicks. With time dwindling and the Knicks up by 38-32, Lance Roxas brought the Suns back with a drive to the hoop and two short-range jumpers sandwiched around a follow shot by teammate Josh Nelson. Having finally gained a 40-38 lead with under a minute to play, the Suns appeared to have pulled it out. But after a Suns miss, Baig converted two pressure free throws for the tie, and Chad Cessna hit the Knicks' game-winning free throw a few seconds later. Scoring leaders were, for the Knicks: Carpenter (13), Cessna (10) and Schall (8), and for the Suns: Roxas (16) and Geraghty (11).

Saturday, Jan. 8    Knicks 39    Wizards 28
The Knicks won their first game of the season behind Chad Cessna's strong inside game and Dale Smith's floor generalship. The Wizards had trouble getting inside for shots and were only luke-warm from the perimeter. Cessna had 14 points for the Knicks, Smith had 13, and Dan Schall added 10. Ray Johnson led the Wizards with 10, Brady Carter added 7 and Joel Davidson 6.

Saturday, Jan. 8    Hornets 31    Supersonics 30
The Hornets held a narrow lead through most of the game, only to see late baskets by Dexter Parrish and David Becker knot the score at 30 in the closing seconds. But Mike Dickriede's free throw won it and gave the Hornets a 2-game lead in the American Division. Drew Manton tallied 14 points to lead the Hornets in scoring, Dickriede had 10, and Cedric Pickett added 6 points. Ty Peters had a big game for the Supersonics with 15 points, including three shots from behind the arc, and Becker had 7 points.

Saturday, Jan. 8    Suns 45    Bulls 39
The Suns--the only team to beat the Bulls so far--emerged with a 2-game lead over their National Division rival. Lance Roxas again handled the scoring responsibilities for the Suns with 18 points, but strong team defense involving all eight of the Suns' players was a key element of the victory, as was the rebounding of Chad Richardson, Joey Geraghty and Josh Nelson. Richardson had 9 points for the Suns and Geraghty 8. Jashaun Wright did his best to keep the Bulls in contention with 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Tommy Hoffman also had 14 for the Bulls.

Monday, Jan. 3    Bulls 50    Knicks 40
Jashaun Wright and Dan Lalumiere combined for five 3-pointers in the first half to stake the Bulls to a 21-15 lead, then Josh Young powered in 16 second-half points on rebounds and post moves to secure the win. Young finished with 20 points and Wright 19. Chad Cessna displayed a strong inside game of his own for the Knicks and scored a game-high 23 points. Dale Smith provided 15 points and floor leadership for the Knicks. Smith's back-to-back treys gave the Knicks a brief lead early in the second half before Young took over.

Monday, Jan. 3    Suns 56    Hornets 33
The Suns' Matt Long repeatedly knifed through the Hornet defense, sometimes scoring himself (11 points) but more often dishing off to teammates for open shots. Benefiting from Long's assists were Chad Richardson (11 points), Joe Geraghty (8) and Bryant Cornetta (8). Richardson, Geraghty and Matt Weyel dominated the boards for the Suns. Drew Manton led the Hornets with 13 points and Terrance Lauderdale added 6 points and a strong defensive effort.

Monday, Jan. 3    Supersonics 45    Wizards 21
The Supersonics' emphatically reversed their earlier loss to the Wizards with a suffocating defensive effort and a balanced scoring attack. Corey Styles and Joe Starr tied for scoring honors with 11 apiece, Dexter Parrish, Carl Stoke and Ty Peters each scored 6, and David Becker had 5. The Wizards could muster only 6 points in a frigid-shooting first half and warmed up much too late. Corey Russell tallied 7 points for the Wizards and Brady Carter 5.

Saturday, Dec 18    Bulls 56    Wizards 42
Jashawn Wright continued to have a hot hand, scoring 18 points to lead the Bulls. Josh Young netted 16 points, mostly in the paint, and Dan Lalumiere contributed 10 critical points. The Wizards, playing the first half with only four men, spotted the Bulls a 28-10 half-time advantage. They fared much better in the second half with a 5-man team, cutting the lead to 40-36 in the late going, before the Bulls went on a closing blitz. Ray Johnson, Willie Pollard and Brady Carter each scored 10 points for the Wizards.

Saturday, Dec 18    Supersonics 70    Hornets 29
Joe Starr erupted for 34 points and Corey Styles poured in 23 to secure the Supersonics' first win of the season. The short-handed Hornets could not match the 'Sonic firepower, getting 11 points from Drew Manton and 8 from Richard Windsor.

Saturday, Dec 18    Suns 72    Knicks 28
The Suns overpowered the Knicks with their quickness and some solid rebounding from Josh Nelson and Chad Richardson. Lance Roxas again paced the Suns in scoring with 22 points, but had lots of help from Matt Long (17), Nelson (15) and Richardson (10). Matt Weyel (4 points) was an integral part of the opportunistic Sun defense. The Knicks could score when they got the ball inside to Carlos Grogan (14 points), but couldn't do it nearly often enough. Scott Wiseman chipped in with 7 points for the Knicks.

Monday, Dec 13    Hornets 35    Knicks 28
The Hornets' attack featured balanced scoring from Drew Manton (10 points), Brandon Taylor (8) and Terrence Lauderdale (8). The Knicks countered with 9 points apiece from Chad Cessna and Dan Schall, but were plagued by cold shooting most of the day.

Monday, Dec 13    Suns 55    Bulls 53
In an early-season showdown, the Suns edged the Bulls on the strength of Lance Roxas' 36 points, the inside work of Chad Richardson and Josh Nelson, and the play-making of Matt Long. Jashawn Wright's 14-point first half kept the Bulls in contention and Josh Young's 15-point second half almost pulled it out. Wright had 18 points in all and Young, 17. Cody Jackson added 6 for the Bulls.

Monday, Dec 13    Wizards 49    Supersonics 39
The Wizards doubled the Supersonics score in the first half, then held on in the second to net their first win of the season. Ray Johnson led the way with 12 points, followed closely by Joel Davidson and Corey Russell with 9 each, and Brady Carter and Willie Pollard with 7 each. Corey Styles led the Supersonics with 16, David Becker had 8 and Joe Starr 7.

Saturday, Dec 11    Hornets 56    Wizards 35
The Hornets rode the inside dominance of Mike Dickriede to a 31-14 half-time lead and held a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Dickriede tallied 19 points, Drew Manton and Ervin Arana scored 7 each, while Terrence Lauderdale, Richard Windsor and Justin Meehan added 6 apiece. Ray Johnson led the Wizards with 11 and Joel Davidson and Corey Russell each scored 7.

Saturday, Dec 11    Suns 42    Supersonics 32
Torrid shooting by Lance Roxas (27 points) and the board work of Joey Geraghty (8 points) was the story of the Suns second win of the season. Dexter Parrish again led the 'Sonics with 13 points and David Becker added 8.

Monday, Dec 6    Bulls 44    Supersonics 29
The Bulls jumped out to a 24-11 first-half lead behind Josh Young's 11 points. Jashawn Wright was high man for the Bulls with 16 points and Young finished with 13. Dexter Parrish netted 14 for the Supersonics.