The Shreveport Mavericks (9-2) extended their winning streak to six games after wins this past weekend at home against the Dallas Skyline (8-3) and on the road against the Little Rock Lightning (0-11). With the win on Sunday, Shreveport moved into first place in the Central Division of The Basketball League with a 9-2 record. They currently hold a half-game lead over the Enid Outlaws and the Potawatomi Fire.
Mavericks 118, Dallas Skyline 105
Shreveport had to battle back from a deficit at halftime to get the home win at the Gold Dome on Friday night. The Mavericks were led by Bernard Parks who scored 21 points along with 6 rebounds. Paul Harrison added 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. DeAndre McIntyre netted 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Jamal Brantley snatched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds including 9 defensive rebounds. Brantley had a career night tying his previous record of 11 rebounds and breaking his assist career-high with 5 assists. Tavin Cummings scored 11 points. Patrick Meyers and Tyrone Jordan contributed 10 each.
The Mavericks opened with two three-point statements from Harrison and Brantly, but Dallas kept within reach 6-4. The two teams swapped shots for the majority of the first period. Shreveport went on an almost four-minute drought with no field goals in the final five minutes of the quarter. The Mavericks’ only momentum they could maintain was a 6-2 run in the final two minutes. Shreveport took a 29-27 first-quarter lead.
The first two minutes of the second quarter looked the same as trading baskets. With 9:48 left in the quarter, Dallas broke away with a 14-2 run to take a 45-35 lead. Marcus Merchant started the scoring frenzy with a layup. Joshua Montgomery fouled DeKabriean Eldridge to allow two free throws to take the 35-33 lead. Eldridge added a dunk for emphasis on the momentum. Logan Hicks nailed a three-point jump shot. Maverick Patrick Meyers cut into the drive with a layup. Dallas rolled again with an Alexander Cooper three-pointer. A steal by Cooper triggers another layup by Eldridge. Eldridge hits another three to push the lead to ten. Shreveport calls timeout to stop the run. The Mavericks closed in the lead to six, but the Skyline took the 56-46 lead at halftime.
Shreveport came out hot in the second half and it only took a little more than 4 minutes to make up the 10-point halftime deficit. The Mavericks with on 14-4 run at the beginning of the second half. Paul Harrison, Bernard Parks, and Jamal Brantley all contributed 4 each during the run. Larry Robinson III’s layup with 7:44 remaining made it a new game at 60-60. For the next minute and a half, the two teams would trade shots. Shreveport regained the lead with five and a half minutes left to go in the third period.
The Mavericks would continue into the fourth quarter until they captured the 118-105 win.
Mavericks 131, LIttle Rock Lightning 91
Two Mavericks had career-high scoring night against the winless Litlle Rock Lightning on Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center. Tyrone Jordan scored a massive career-high 34 points in the blowout. Jordan shot 11 of 19 from the field and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the charity stripe. Shreveport overall was 27 for 29 on free throws in the win. Also, making a scoring career-high was Tavin Cummings with 15 points. Cummings was perfect from the field at 5 for 5, 1 for 1 from 3-point land, and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. Bernard Parks contributed 18 points in the win over the Lightning. Paul Harrison netted 14 and grabbed 6 rebounds. AJ Cheeseman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12.
An opening pair of threes showed that the Lightning wasn’t just going to roll over. The two teams stayed knotted at 7-7 after the first four minutes. Jamal Brantley started the Mavericks on a small 5-0 run that put some space in the score. DeAndre McIntyre popped a three-pointer to give a five-point lead at 12-7. Shreveport would stay around that lead for the next couple of minutes. Lightning Preston Whitfield made a layup to start a 6-0 run. Percell Washington’s layup would give the Lightning the lead at 17-16. Jaskam Bajwa scored his two free throws and Little Rock was up by three with 3:49 left. Another turnover by the Mavericks had them calling a timeout. Shreveport came back late in the first and the two went into the second quarter tied at 22.
The Mavericks opened the second quarter with a three-point aerial attack with back-to-back baskets from Jordan. Jaskam Bajwa stopped the run momentarily with a jump shot. Jordan was going for a third three-pointer but was fouled by Bajwa. Jordan connected on all three free throws. Jamal Brantley added another two on a layup. Jordan scored for a layup and followed up closing the 15-4 run with another layup. Shreveport was up 37-26 with 8:21 remaining. Shreveport maintained the lead, but Little Rock cut the lead with a little under five minutes in the second with a 7-0 run with Taylen Alexander’s 5 points and Courtese Cooper’s basket. Shreveport still had a 44-38 lead. The two would trade shots for the remainder of the quarter. The difference was the Mavericks were bucketing threes and Little Rock only scoring 2’s. Shreveport scored five three-pointers in the second quarter and built back a 58-46 lead.
Shreveport went on run after run in the third quarter as they outscored Little Rock 32-22 and pushed the lead to 22 points. Jordan continued to dominate the Lightning from beyond the arc. A three-pointer followed by a layup and included by Paul Harrison saw the Mavericks go on a 7-0 run. Shreveport had increased their lead to 70-54. A three by Bajwa momentarily stopped the scoring by the Mavericks. Two layups by Harrison followed by yet another bomb behind the three-point line by Jordan gave the Mavericks a 77-57 lead. Taylen Alexander tried to stop the Maverick machine with a three. It only pushed them harder. Bernard Parks scored a jump shot. Jordan scored another three. Jordan attempted another three and was fouled by Markel Williams. For the second time on the night, Jordan nailed all three free throws. Bilal Richardson closed out the 17-3 run and gave the Mavericks a 27 point lead with 3:34 left to go. Shreveport would maintain a 90-68 third-quarter lead.
Just because they had a 22 point lead heading into the final quarter didn’t mean that the Mavericks would let up on the Lightning. The Mavericks would go on a 12-0 run with 9:32 remaining. Larry Robinson III would open and close the run with baskets. Tavin Cummings would add 4 during the run. Deandre McIntyre and Joshua Montgomery would score. Shreveport had taken a 108-74 lead at that point. Another 10-0 run started with under three minutes remaining to widen the lead further to 127-86. Shreveport would close out with a 40 point win.
The Mavericks will take an Easter break from games but will return to the Gold Dome to face the Beaumont Panthers (4-4) on April 22.
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