The Shreveport Mavericks are headed to the Central Conference Finals after defeating the Potawatomi Fire 120-110 on Saturday night in the Centenary Gold Dome. The Mavericks now will face the defending TBL Champion Enid Outlaws starting on Wednesday, June 15 at the Centenary Gold Dome for Game 1.
The Fire struggled from hitting beyond the arc only hitting 6 for 27 (22%) for three-pointers. The only player that had success for Potawatomi was Deon Lyle who hit 4 for 5 from 3-point land. Shreveport shot 14 for 37 (37%) from past the 3-point arc. Although the Fire was cold from a distance, they outscored Shreveport 60-40 with points in the paint. Shreveport struggled on the fast break scoring only 2 points to the Fire’s 23.
The top scorer for the Mavericks was Paul Harrison with 29 points shooting 68% from the field (11-16, overall; 9 for 11, 2 pointers). Harrison also had 8 rebounds. Paul Parks netted 22 pointers and collected 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Alanie Moore bucketed 20 points and 8 rebounds. Tyrone Jordan scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Patrick Meyers scored 11 points and took 6 rebounds. Jamal Brantley added 10 points. Deandre McIntrye and Tyrin Cummings each had 5 rebounds.
The Fire jumped early in the first quarter going on a 10-1 run pushed by Mustapha Traore’s five points. The FIre had taken a 10-5 lead in the first four minutes. Patrick Meyers kept the Mavericks close with three consecutive 3-pointers. Shreveport had closed the gap back to 17-16 behind. The two teams swapped leads back and forth for the next two minutes. Paul Harrison found the bucket and sent Shreveport on an 8-0 run to take the first-quarter lead at 31-25.
The second period saw the Maverick struggle to make a basket. McIntyre scored a three at 11:21. Shreveport did not score another field goal for the next five minutes. They also shot 3 for 6 from the charity stripe during this time. Luckily, the Fire was struggling to score also. Shreveport closed out the second quarter with a three from Paul Harrison and a couple of free throws from Moore. Shreveport kept their 50-43 lead heading into halftime.
The Mavericks tried to separate from the Fire in the third period. Paul Harrison popped a three and Meyers scored to give the 57-50 lead early in the third. Shreveport went on a three-point streak midway through the quarter. Parks buried three of the five consecutive threes. McIntyre and Moore added one each. The Mavericks had extended their lead to 79-63. The Fire climbed back into the game with a couple of late runs in the period. Shreveport had extended their lead to 89-76 heading into the final quarter.
The two teams traded baskets for the first part of the final quarter. Shreveport jumped up to a 19-point lead with a small run from Meyers, Harrison, and Jordan. Shreveport had a 109-90 lead with 4:22 remaining. Potawatomi cut the lead to 117-108 but couldn’t get any closer as Shreveport ended the season for the Fire.
Shreveport now heads to a best two out of three series against the defending TBL Champions Enid Outlaws. The two split their series during the regular season. Shreveport will open the series on Wednesday night at home at the Gold Dome with a 7:05 tip-off. Game 2 will send the series back to Oklahoma on Friday. If a Game 3 is necessary, the final game will be at the Outlaws.
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