Sacramento 93, Oklahoma City 82
River Dogs vanquish stubborn Lariats
SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento River Dogs overcame a strong challenge from visiting Oklahoma City to secure a 93-82 home win and go into the half time break with a perfect 5-0 record.
The game Lariats stayed within striking distance of the R-Dogs throughout and made a big push in the fourth quarter to get within one point of the lead. But Sacramento got huge buckets down the stretch from Pap Smearz and Potus Obama, both of whom were somewhat somnambulant until then.
Sacramento boasted the top defense in the MBA coming into the contest, but Oklahoma City was outstanding offensively, shooting 64.2 percent, with all five starters providing a balanced attack.
But the River Dogs, the second-best offensive team in the league, bettered that mark with a scorching 75.9 percent shooting night.
Oklahoma City goes into the break 2-3.
PLAYER OF GAME
Eight-season veteran center TREE FIDDY of the victorious River Dogs registered his third POG of the season, tying him with Flip Testerton of Charleston and Colquitt Croix of Philadelphia for most this campaign. Fiddy gave highly touted rookie center Chochky Galumpkus a good going over, especially in the first half when he burned the newcomer for 21 of his game-high 25 points. The 6-8 Fiddy was 11 for 12 from the floor (including a slam), scoring mainly down low against his 7-1 opponent. He was a perfect 3 for 3 from the foul stripe, making him 7 for 7 for the season. He added 2 assists. He goes into the break averaging 19 points per game, currently tied for second in the league in scoring and is a cinch for his sixth All Star Game and in pursuit of a second foil star.
OTHER 20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS
-- Ten-season veteran forward Pap Smearz of Sacramento came on strong at the end of this hard-fought contest, ending with 14 points, 4 assist, the only steal of the game, 1 block and 1 rebound. A fifth All Star Game seems imminent.
-- Sixth-year forward Doo-Rag Dripp of Sacramento continues to have a fine season and will land in his third All Star classic. In this game the 6-7 Dripp scored 18 points, pulled down 3 rebounds and tied for game-high in blocked shots with 2. He just added that defensive ability to swat shots away this campaign.
-- Oklahoma City's second-year point guard Flip Phelps was a key to keeping the Lariats a threat in this game. Phelps tied for game-high in assists with 5 while scoring 13 points and pulling down 2 boards. His 3 for 3 shooting from beyond the arc did nothing to harm his second-in-the-league status from deep.
-- Power forward Peter Pizza of Oklahoma City scored 14 points, tied for most blocks with 2, grabbed 2 reboun ds and dished 3 assists, doing gallant battle with Pap Smearz all game long.
NEXT UP: Seattle (3-1) at Los Angeles (1-3) ... the up and coming Stampede can get a stranglehold on second place in the West and knock the defending champions seemingly out of contention with a road win here.
BONUS: RETIREMENTS ANNOUNCED
Here's a list of the players who announced their retirements, which will take place at the conclusion of Season 46.
Analysis
-- Two teams, Sacramento and Oklahoma City, escaped without any retirements. The Lariats are a young team in a rebuilding stage, but the River Dogs ran the gauntlet with some very key older players.
-- Hardest hit teams were Philadelphia and Charleston. Philly lost one of the great guard of all time in Colquitt Croix and Charleston is the only team to lose two starters, both key members of the Mountaineers.
-- Cut pile losses include the oldest current player in the game, center Wayan Garuda, who has been in the league since Season 31.
Ranking the retirees by awards they have thus far won we have:
Colquitt Croix...12
Pietro Destroyer...7
Bingo Bango...4
Poodle "Stix" Jackson...3
Wayan Garuda...3
Flip Testerton...2
Lapiz Lapiz Boligrafo...1
the rest have 0
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