The Albany Patroon took Game 2 in The Basketball League National Championship series 112-102 over the Shreveport Mavericks at the Washington Avenue Armory on Wednesday night.
The overall matchup between the two was fairly even except in two key stats. Albany slightly outscored Shreveport 40-27 in bench points and 32-15 on fast-break points. One key factor for Shreveport’s game is the three and they struggled shooting 5 for 24 (20 percent) from beyond the arc.
Patrick Meyers was the top scorer for Shreveport with 28 points and 5 rebounds. Meyers hot hand shot 13 for 18 (72 percent) from the field. Paul Harrison pulled down a double-double with 21 points and amassed 13 rebounds. Tavin Cummings scored 17 points shooting 7 for 11 (63 percent) from the field. Tyrone Jordan rounded out with 10 points. Paul Parks rebounded 6. Alanie Moore helped with 5 assists.
Albany’s top scorer was Kameron Williams with 26 points. BJ Glasford scored 23 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Off the bench, AJ Mosby netted 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jared Sam scored 18 and took 8 rebounds
Midway through the first quarter made a statement on their home court taking a 10-2 run and taking a 12-6 lead behind Mosby and Williams five points each. Both teams had a scoring drought in between for two minutes that was finally broken by Brantley’s layup with 5:41 remaining and Albany leading 14-8. Meyers took the scoring into his hands for the Mavericks as he went on his own 6-0 run to tie the game at 14-14. The Patroon took a little offense as they took back the lead starting with the “and-1” from Luther Page. Albany went on a 17-2 run in the final four minutes. Bilal Richards’s two free throws were the only break for the Mavericks. Moore scored in the final 15 seconds to start the massive run. Albany had a 31-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Albany had the hot hand again midway through the second going on a 12-2 run. The Patroon had amassed a 22-point lead at 45-23 until Jordan buried a three to end the run. Shreveport tried to close the gap with less than four minutes left in the first half with a 6-2 run and closed the gap below 20 points. Back-to-back threes from JC Show took the lead to 59-24. Cunningham popped one beyond the arc to end the small run. The Patroon took the 61-42 into the locker room at halftime.
After some back and forth scoring, Shreveport finally got a grip in a 12-2 run. The Pauls went to work. Harrison scored a bucket followed by a three-point play. Parks nailed a three to out the run in the middle of the third. Shreveport had gotten back below 20 again. Glasford scored a layup to stop the run. Harrison and Parks came back with a layup to get to within 70-58 with 7:21 remaining in the third. Albany countered with their 9-1 run to push back to a 20-point lead. Cummings popped a three and a layup to end the third as Albany maintained the lead at 84-69.
Cummings sparked an 8-2 run at the start of the fourth. Shreveport had reached below a 10-point deficit at 86-77 with less than 10 minutes in the game. Williams and Glasford hit back-to-back threes to push back to a 15-point lead. Shreveport’s frustration grew as for every score Albany would have an answer. Meyers was called for a technical. Albany held on for the 112-102 final
It’s down to the “if necessary” game that is the crucial final game between these two powerhouse teams in The Basketball League. Game 3 will start at 6:00 pm (CST).
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