Hot-shooting Kawabe sparks Hannaryz in win over Rizing

Taizo Kawabe came off the bench and scored a season-high 22 points on Saturday, leading the Kyoto Hannaryz to an 82-67 victory over the host Rizing Fukuoka.

Staying aggressive: Yokohama B-Corsairs guard Kenji Yamada dribbles the ball in Saturday's game against the host Sendai 89ers. Yokohama edged Sendai 62-61, extending its winning streak to eight games. DOMINIKA FITZGERALD

Kawabe buried 4 of 6 3-point shots and converted all five of his attempts from inside the arc in 28 electrifying minutes.

The Hannaryz (34-17) are tied with the Osaka Evessa for the second-best record in the Western Conference entering the final day of the bj-league's seventh season.

Jermaine Boyette added 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for Kyoto, Rick Rickert had eight points and nine boards and Lance Allred and Lee Cummard each scored seven points.

Kevin Palmer paced the Rizing (32-19) with 34 points and 11 rebounds and Carlos Dixon had 18 points.

Fukuoka missed 19 of 22 3-point shots.

Evessa 89, Lakestars 84

In Osaka, Mike Bell's 17-point, 20-rebound effort guided the Evessa to a gritty victory over Kansai rival Shiga.

Satoshi Takeda and Shota Konno each had 15 points for Osaka (34-17) and Cohey Aoki and Wayne Marshall both scored 11. Bobby St. Preux contributed nine points and seven assists.

Six Shiga players scored in double figures: Yu Okada (15 points), Dionisio Gomez (14), Julius Ashby (12), Ray Nixon and Shinya Ogawa (11 apiece) and Bryant Markson (10).

The Lakestars slipped to 33-18.

B-Corsairs 62, 89ers 61

In Sendai, for the third straight game, Yokohama defeated the 89ers. This time, Justin Burrell's dunk — on an assist from Draelon Burns — with 5 seconds remaining was the different.

Burrell led the B-Corsairs (30-21) with 13 points and 13 rebounds. He was 6-for-17 from the field, but his three dunks were significant as Yokohama stretched its winning streak to eight games. (Burrell is the subject matter for Sunday's Hoop Scoop column in The Japan Times.)

B-Corsairs big man Chas McFarland had 10 points and eight rebounds and Masayuki Kabaya poured in nine points, Marcus Simmons had eight and Burns scored seven and dished out four assists.

Yokohama escaped with the win despite shooting 13-for-24 at the free-throw line.

For Sendai, which has scored 62 or less points in the past three games against Yokohama, Dan Fitzgerald, who later went the hospital to get stitches in his head after was the high scorer with 22 points and Johnny Dukes and Rashaad Singleton each had 14 points. Takuya Komoda scored nine points and Hikaru Kusaka had six assists. Singleton pulled down 13 rebounds.

"Mental mistakes cost us at the end," 89ers coach Bob Pierce said after his team fell to 25-26.

Phoenix 90, Brave Warriors 87

In Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, a 30-point fourth quarter ignited Hamamatsu Higashimikawa to a narrow win over the hosts.

Jermaine Dixon led the Phoenix with 22 points and seven assists, while Gyno Pomare had 16 points and nine rebounds. Shoji Nakanishi scored 13 points and Wayne Arnold and Jeffrey Parmer both had 12 for the two-time defending champions.

Hamamatsu (36-15) sits atop the Eastern Conference.

"Way to get that great team victory today," Dixon wrote on Facebook. "We fought to get that win."

Derek Raivio scored 20 points for Shinshu (18-33), Edward Morris pumped in 19 and Lee Roberts (13 points, 15 rebounds) and Tyler Hughes (10 points, 13 boards) both recorded double-doubles. Takanori Goya, the Toyama Grouses' first-ever draft pick, finished with 12 points and four assists.

Broncos 75, Albirex BB 74

In Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, John "Helicopter" Humphrey sank five 3-pointers and scored 32 points in the Broncos' narrow victory over Niigata.

Jayme Miller supplied 18 points and 12 rebounds for the victors and Yuki Kitamuki, a Bronco since 2006, contributed seven points and six assists.

Saitama (16-35) will miss the playoffs for the seventh straight season.

For the Albirex (27-24 under first-year coach Matt Garrison), Nile Murry scored 16 points, Chris Holm had 13 points and 14 rebounds and Bennet Davis scored 12.

Golden Kings 85, Grouses 64

In Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Dillion Sneed put 22 points on the board on 10-for-14 shooting and David Palmer chipped in with 13 points and 10 boards for title-contending Ryukyu.

Naoto Kosuge scored 12 points and Tsubasa Yonamine had six assists for the Golden Kings (38-13).

Devin Searcy paced the Grouses (25-26) with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while teammates Brian Harper, Masashi Joho and Ira Brown scored 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively.

HeatDevils 83, Five Arrows 82

In Takamatsu, Oita edged the lowly hosts, getting a big boost from Wendell White's 23-point, 16-rebound, five-assist night and T.J. Cummings' 31 points.

The Five Arrows (2-49) lost their 24th straight game.

Taj Finger added nine points and eight boards for the HeatDevils (22-29) and Naoto Takushi handed out seven assists.

Takamatsu big man Paul Butorac had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Hiroyuki Kikuchi scored 20 points.

Susanoo Magic 97, Shining Suns 75

In Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Michael Parker, a day away from winning his fourth straight scoring title, had 30 points and five assists as Shimane manhandled the Shining Suns.

B.J. Puckett added 19 points and seven boards for the Magic (27-24) and Micah Williams scored 16 points with four assists. Jumpei Nakama scored nine points Koki Yabuuchi had seven points and five assists and Jeral Davis provided seven points, eight boards and four blocks in 17 busy minutes.

Dexter Lyons had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Miyazaki (22-29), Tsubasa Yonezawa scored 13 and Taishiro Shimizu had 12.

Big Bulls 82, Jets 77

In Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Thomas Kennedy scored a game-high 27 points and Makoto Sawaguchi had 15 as the expansion Big Bulls won for the fourth time in their last five games.

For Iwate (18-33) Shawn Malloy finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds and Gordon Klaiber had 10 points and 13 boards, Jamal Boykin scored seven points and Yoshiaki Yamamoto had six points and four assists.

Jamel Staten led Chiba (18-33) with 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, while Shota Isshiki was 5-for-6 on 3s and scored 18 points. Takaki Ishida added 15 points and Gaston Moliva raked in 11 rebounds. Guard Maurice Hargrow, the league's third-leading scorer (21.6 points per game), missed his first game of the season due to a torn calf muscle.

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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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Hard-working Hannaryz extend win streak to eight

Former NBA center Lance Allred had 18 points and 20 rebounds and Jermaine Boyette scored a game-high 20 points to lead the visiting Kyoto Hannaryz to their eighth win in a row, an 80-73 triumph over the Miyazaki Shining Suns on Sunday in the bj-league.

Rick Rickert, a former Minnesota Timberwolves draft pick, added 16 points and 10 boards for the surging Hannaryz (11-5), who are off to their best start in the franchise's three-season history. Taizo Kawabe scored six points and Kyosuke Setoyama contributed five points and three assists.

First-year Kyoto coach Honoo Hamaguchi's team played a solid all-around game perhaps defined best by these numbers: 17 assists and nine turnovers. The veteran club also sank 13 of 16 free-throw attempts.

For Miyazaki (6-10), Darryl Dora was the leading scorer (19 points) and Taishiro Shimizu had 16.

89ers 95, Susanoo Magic 70

In Sendai, the 89ers raced out to a 23-3 at the end of the first quarter en route to a blowout victory over Shimane.

O'Neal Mims led Sendai (10-6) with 31 points, Dan Fitzgerald scored 28, including five 3-pointers, and Hikaru Kusaka had 15. Point guard Takehiko Shimura registered eight assists after dishing out 10 in the series opener. On the season, Shimura has 85 assists and 20 turnovers.

For the Susanoo Magic (8-8), Michael Parker scored 24 points with nine rebounds, Reggie Golson added 14 points and B.J. Puckett had nine.

Sendai coach Bob Pierce said his team's defense, which held Shimane to 39.4 percent shooting (26-for-66) from 2-point range, was a big key to the victory.

He called it a "great defensive effort from our whole team."

Center Rashaad Singleton got his first start since Oct. 23 and responded with a six-point, 13-rebound, five-block, three-assist performance for the 89ers. Singleton replaced Johnny Dukes, who served a one-game suspension for breaking a window in the team's locker room at halftime on Saturday, in the starting lineup.

Yoshihiro Tachibana (four points) capped the win with a dunk in the final second, and teammate Kenichi Takahashi scored seven points.

"I told our Japanese players last night that we needed more scoring from them," Pierce said, "and Hikaru responded with 15 points."

Golden Kings 90, Happinets 76

In Mitane, Akita Prefecture, Reggie Okosa had 26 points and 13 rebounds and Jeff Newton scored 22 points, grabbed 15 boards and swatted four shots as Ryukyu salvaged a series split.

Anthony McHenry poured in 12 points and Morihisa Yamauchi added eight, while Narito Namizato handed out eight assists for the Golden Kings (12-4), who moved back into a tie with the Osaka Evessa for first place in the Western Conference.

Ryukyu out-rebounded the hosts 58-40.

Michael Gardener paced Akita (11-5) with 26 points, Ricky Woods scored 16 and Kazuhiro Shoji scored 14.

Brave Warriors 78, Albirex BB 75

In Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture, Lee Roberts scored 23 points and Derek Raivio had 20 on 7-for-12 shooting as Shinshu improved to 8-8 in its inaugural season.

For Niigata (7-7), Yuichi Ikeda had 13 points and Chris Holm posted a double-double (12 points, 17 boards).

Lakestars 99, Broncos 77

In Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, Ray Nixon put 23 points on the board, Josh Peppers scored 22 and the hosts improved to 8-2 at home en route to a sweep over Saitama.

Dionisio Gomez scored 14 points, Takamichi Fujiwara had 12 and Yu Okada finished with 11 points and eight assists for Shiga (11-5).

The undermanned Broncos, playing without frontcourt starters John Flowers and Gabriel Hughes due to health and injury issues, fell to 5-9. Kenny Satterfield (24 points) and Daiki Terashita (11) both played the entire 40 minutes, while John "Helicopter" Humphrey (20 points) logged 37:37 and Yuki Kitamuki was on the court for 36:06.

Big Bulls 77, Five Arrows 70

In Takamatsu, Iwate edged the hosts to record the first back-to-back wins in franchise history.

Second-year pro Makoto Sawaguchi, who turns 20 on Monday, led the Big Bulls (3-13) with 16 points and Thomas Kennedy had 14, while four teammates also scored in double figures for the expansion squad.

Paul Butorac finished with a team-high 19 points for Takamatsu (0-16).

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