Hannaryz rally late, stretch winning streak to 11 games

The Kyoto Hannaryz gave their fans the perfect Christmas Eve git: a thrilling comeback win over the visiting Akita Northern Happinets.

Kyosuke Setoyama and Jermaine Boyette buried 3-point shots in the final minute and the Hannaryz rallied for a 79-78 triumph, extending their winning streak to 11 games.

Boyette, who had an 18-point performance, scored the game-winning basket with 2 seconds remaining. He was 4-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Hannaryz (14-5 overall, 8-3 at home) trailed 77-71 with 33 seconds left before Setoyama, who dished out 11 assists, and Boyette made clutch 3s, the latter of which pulled Kyoto to within 78-77.

Former NBA center Lance Allred paced the Hannaryz with 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds. Teammate Rick Rickert added 13 points and eight boards for coach Honoo Hamaguchi's club. Naoto Nakamura added nine points and Taizo Kawabe had four assists.

For Akita (13-8), Stanley Ocitti was the top scorer with 21 points. Ricky Woods finished with 16 points and Curtis Terry and E.J. Drayton scored 14 points apiece.

Five Arrows 80, Shining Suns 75

In Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Takamatsu ended its season-long losing streak by edging the hosts.

Paul Butorac scored a team-high 18 points for the Five Arrows (1-20) and Masaaki Suzuki had 15. Nyika Williams scored 11 points and Hiroyuki Kikuchi had 10, while Michael Nunnally and Kevin Smith, who made his season debut after a long injury layoff, both had eight.

The Five Arrows controlled the game in the third quarter, outscoring the hosts 19-6.

Tsubasa Yonezawa led the Shining Suns (9-12) with 16 points. Miyazaki's Dexter Lyons and Lewis Witcher scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. Darryl Dora grabbed 14 rebounds for the hosts.

Albirex BB 89, Jets 79

In Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Erron Maxey had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Nile Murry scored 19 as Niigata swept the struggling hosts.

Dwight Gordon added 15 points, Shuhei Komatsu scored 13 and Chris Holm pulled down 18 rebounds for the Albirex (12-8).

Chiba coach Eric Gardow said it was "a tough weekend for the Jets. We got out-rebounded both days and our defense was very poor. ... Niigata outplayed us in both games. Congratulations to them."

For Chiba (10-12), Maurice Hargrow led the way with 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Jamel Staten added 23 points and nine boards for the Jets. Jamal Holden and Kosuke Yahata each scored eight points.

The Jets were 12-for-23 at the charity stripe.

Evessa 60, 89ers 59

In Osaka, center Wayne Marshall scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds and Lavell Payne and Cohey Aoki chipped in with 11 points apiece as the Evessa won the series opener.

Satoshi Takeda added 10 points and Kevin Tyner scored eight as Osaka improved to 14-5.

The Evessa raced out to a 12-1 lead to start the game.

"It wasn't pretty but we pulled out a win," Evessa coach Ryan Blackwell said. "Lawrence (Blackledge) made a great block at the end of the game that saved us."

He added: "We gave up 25 offensive rebounds, many when we were in 2-3 zone but still too much. Lavell Payne came off the bench and sparked us offensively when we struggled to make shots and Wayne made some nice plays offensively down the stretch."

Evessa star Lynn Washington served a one-game ban for a flagrant foul last weekend against Akita.

There were several interesting subplots to the game, including:

*Sendai's Dan Fitzgerald and Osaka's Lawrence Blackledge were Marquette University teammates.

*Blackwell played for the 89ers from 2006-08

*Sendai's Takuya Komoda suited up for Osaka after the March 11 earthquake ended the 89ers' 2010-11 campaign.

For Sendai (11-10), Johnny Dukes had 18 points, 15 boards and six assists and Rashaad Singleton finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Fitzgerald had 12 points and 10 boards.

"We battled back from a slow start, and had the ball and a shot at the end to win it," 89ers coach Bob Pierce said. "I think it might have been Santa who blocked it at the end."

Golden Kings 83, HeaDevils 80

In Kitsuki, Oita Prefecture, David Palmer scored a season-high 32 points, including 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, and Ryukyu improved to 11-2 on the road.

Naoto Kosuge had 14 points and Anthony McHenry and Morihisa Yamauchi each had 12 points for the Western Conference-leading Golden Kings (16-5). Center Jeff Newton, who was 0-for-5 from the field and scored zero points, grabbed 12 rebounds in the win, the only statistic he has stated repeatedly that he cares about.

T.J. Cummings paced the HeatDevils (4-17) with 25 points and 19 rebounds. Naoto Takushi, a former Ryukyu player, had 20 points and 12 assists, while Matt Lottich scored 12 points. Wendell White returned to the lineup after a three-game absence due to an ankle injury, and the one-time bj-league MVP had nine points, seven rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.

Phoenix 71, Broncos 67

In Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Wayne Arnold led two-time defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa with 19 points and big man Herve Lamizana blocked six shots in a win over the Broncos.

Atsuya Ota had 12 points, Jeffrey Parmer added 11, Lamizana had 10 points and nine boards and Jermaine Dixon provided nine points and six assists from the point. Crafty veteran Masahiro Oguchi made five steals for the victors.

Hamamatsu (13-8) outscored the hosts 43-27 in the second half.

John "Helicopter" Humphrey led Saitama with 20 points. Kenny Satterfield had 13 points and seven assists and Jayme Miller contributed 10 points and 10 boards. Newcomer Nashid Beard had nine points and eight rebounds in his Saitama debut and Daiki Terashita also scored nine points.

The Broncos fell to 6-13 and lost their fourth straight game. They had 22 turnovers and shot 22-for-63 from the field.

B-Corsairs 73, Brave Warriors 63

In Okaya, Nagano Prefecture, Justin Burrell posted a double-double with 24 points and 10 boards and Marcus Simmons scored 13 points as Yokohama defeated Shinshu in the expansion teams' series opener.

Kenji Yamada had an 11-point outing and Senegalese forward Pape Mour Faye hauled in 16 rebounds and scored 10 points for good measure for the B-Corsairs (8-11).

Lee Roberts paced the Brave Warriors (9-12) with 19 points, while Edward Morris, Tyler Hughes and Derek Raivio scored 12 points apiece.

Big Bulls 89, Lakestars 69

In Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Iwate's offense kicked into high gear in the fourth quarter, with 28 points to the hosts' 13 en route to a one-sided win.

Thomas Kennedy scored a team-high 22 points, Makoto Sawaguchi had 17, while Shawn Malloy (15 points, 14 boards) and Gordon Klaiber (15 points, nine boards and four steals in his Big Bulls debut) also had key performances for the Big Bulls (6-15). Tasuku Namizato had eight assists in the win.

Iwate made 10 of 19 3-point shots.

Ray Nixon led Shiga (14-7) with 18 points and Julius Ashby scored 12. Josh Peppers scored nine for the Lakestars.

Rizing 83, Susanoo Magic 76

In Fukuoka, Kevin Palmer scored 23 points and Jun Nakanishi poured in 20 as the hosts topped Shimane.

Carlos Dixon added 17 points, Gary Hamilton had a 13-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist, four-steal performance and Akitomo Takeno dished out five assists and collected three steals for Fukuoka (14-7).

Reggie Golson was the Magic's top scorer (21 points) and Michael Parker scored 20. Jeral Davis had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Shimane (12-9).

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