The Shreveport Mavericks had eight of their twelve-team roster on Friday night at the Gold Dome score in double digits in the 142-105 rout of the one-win Waco Royals. Each Maverick, starter or bench, received at least 11 minutes of playing time against the Royals. The second-chance points were key for Shreveport as they snatched 21 offensive rebounds to Waco’s 8. Waco’s 24 turnovers didn’t help their situation.
AJ Chessman was the top scorer with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Tavin Cummings also netted 19 points with 5 assists. Cummings shot 9 for 12 from the field in the win. DeAndre McIntyre scored 16 and snatched 5 rebounds. Big Paul Harrison bucketed 13. Alanie Moore scored 12 with 7 assists. Patrick Meyers netted 12 with 5 assists. Tyrone Jordan was prowling on defense with 5 steals and contributed 12 for the win. Joshua Montgomery added 11.
The upstart Royals looked more than a one-win team as the Mavericks attempted to pull away in the first quarter with multiple runs. Waco matched run for run eventually tying at 26-26. A late surge by Shreveport eventually gave them the 33-26 lead.
Waco continued to hamper Shreveport in the second quarter as they opened with a 7-2 run to close within 35-33. A lot of banter between the two caused Coach T to call his team into check. Shreveport had enough toying with the Royals and Jordan and Cheeseman took a 12-0 run to push the Mavericks to 56-38. Cheeseman scored 13 in the second quarter as Shreveport took a 70-53 lead at halftime.
Shreveport continued to pull away as Paul Harrison scored his seventh point of the third quarter and started another small 6-0 run less than two minutes into the quarter. Waco brought back the lead under 20 with their own 8-0 run. The Mavericks took back control with 4:54 to go as Paul Meyers scored. Shreveport maintained control with the next two minutes on another 8-0 run and 94-68 lead. The Royals did not help by not making a field goal for over six minutes in the third quarter. Shreveport jumped again on another 5-0 run to push their lead to 29. The Mavericks led 104-78 after three periods.
The Royals knew they had a huge hole to cover and attempted to keep the game below a 30-point lead. Waco went on a small 6-0 run that was countered by the Mavericks’ 6-0 run exclamation by a Tavin Cummings dunk. Shreveport had reached a 114-84 lead. They stayed around the 30-point lead mark. The Royals tried one last gasp with another small 6-0 run and moved below the 30-point lead at 127-100
Shreveport showed who was king as back-to-back dunks by DeAndre McIntyre and Joshua Montgomery insured the 30-plus point win.
The win was key for the Mavericks as they moved into sole first place with an 18-3 record. Enid Outlaws was off for Friday and remained at 17-3 meaning the Mavericks have a half-game lead. The showdown between the Mavericks and Outlaws tonight at 7:05 at the Gold will be crucial in the Central Division race. A win by the Mavericks tonight and they can clinch the division next Friday against the playoff-bound Potawatomi Fire on the road. A loss and they will have to win both games on the road against the Fire and Outlaws for a chance at the top seed.
Tipoff tonight at 7:05 at the Gold Dome for the clash with the Outlaws.
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