Round 2 of the IBL Playoffs

 

Monroe Sports Arena

 

 

 

34- Dontay Harris

1- Justin Murray

15 – Antwan Williams

32- Quentin Nolen

7- Lorenzo Rollins

 

3- Ira Graham

21- Tyler Amaya

22- Jacob Stevenson

23- Ryan Diggs

34- Lukas Henne

 

A week after the Slam and the Tide met in the IBL regular season, the two teams were matched up with more on the line. The Tide have been able to rely on their depth all season long. With a mixture of defensive sets and pressures, they can force a pace that exploits their deep bench. The advantage, however, is less decisive since the Round 2 matchup with Bellingham is likely a game between the two strongest benches in the IBL.

 

Both teams got off to a good start and showed little signs of early jitters. With a playoff game already under their belt, the Tide shooting was much crisper to begin the game than it was a day before. With both teams showing poise, he score was 13-10 in favor of the Tide with six minutes remaining in the 1^st quarter.

 

After the Tide lead grew to five, it was quickly turned around with the injection of Paul Hofford into the game for Bellingham. The Slam sharp shooter hit his first two looks at three and Tyler Amaya fed off that to match his teammate with two three pointers of his own. Hofford would hit five threes in the half. The Slam led by double digits after one period

 

1^st - Tide 22 – 33 Slam

 

Six straight points from the Tide said, “We’re not going to go home quietly.” Then a bigger statement came at the ten minute mark when the Tide rebounded three missed shots and Justin Murray found a lay up on the forth attempt. With the lead down to five, Bellingham hit back behind Tyler Amaya. The former Gonzaga University product, who struggled in the teams’ first meeting, would finish the half with 14 points, 4 rebounds, and a couple emphatic blocks.

 

Tacoma and Bellingham exchanged jabs as the half progressed and the lead lingered around twelve. Each time the Tide would move the ball and make a nice bucket, the Slam would respond with a basket of their own. The Tide’s Antwan Williams threaded the needle to Dontay Harris for what looked like the final basket of the half with five seconds left. However, like the rest of the half, Bellingham responded with a Jake Linton buzzer beating three.

 

Halftime – Tide 52 – 63 Slam

 

The Slam seemed to be in control through the first half, but in the IBL, a lead is a fragile thing. The slam lead of eleven points was cut down to five with 8 minutes left in the 3^rd quarter. The Tide methodically worked it down and the deficit was 69-68 with 4:15 left in the period. The comeback was complete twenty seconds later after the Tide turned over the Slam and Antwan Williams laid up the breakaway.

 

The Tide comeback was due to great ball movement for easy two point shots. The Tide made only one three on three attempts in the 3^rd period, but they finished it with a two point lead after Williams made a circus shot, left handed, hanging finger-roll.

 

3^rd – Tide 87 – 85 Slam

 

The intensity level was high as the final quarter began at the Monroe Sports Arena. The Slam’s Ryan Diggs started things off with a deep three. The Tide responded by going back inside, and Lorenzo Rollins got an inside bucket. Dontay Harris had 33 points through three quarters, and he tacked on two more, with a beautiful pivot in the post with 9:00 remaining. Looking unstoppable, the Tide big man then went to work for a three point play by rolling in a free throw after a strong finish.

 

The momentum was clearly with the Tide as their biggest lead of the night, 101-93 came with seven minutes remaining. The Slam response through Amaya and Jacob Stevenson brought it back to 101-98 a minute later. Ira Graham’s three from the corner tied it up and made the Slam run 8-0 in two minutes. After a Tide turnover, Amaya scored to reclaim the lead for Bellingham for a brief stint before it was tied again with 4:10 left on a Nolen layin.

 

Baskets were tough to come by, but both teams continued to match each other to see who would blink first. A Tide miscue left Stevenson open for a wide open layin, to make it 111-109 in favor of the Slam with just over one minute left. Each team scored again to keep the lead at two until Henne was put on the foul line and sunk both attempts.

 

Down by four, and with the season down to 23.1 seconds, Coach Lovelady called a timeout to set up his team’s plan. The Slam swarmed defensively to pick off a pass from Williams to Murray and the air deflated from Tacoma’s lungs.

 

 

The Tide were led by a dominate performance from Dontay Harris. The former Drake University player scored 40 points and played 47 minutes. Antwan Williams dished out an incredible 18 assists, matched that with 18 points, and even grabbed 9 rebounds. Bellingham was led by Jacob Stevenson who had 29 points and Tyler Amaya with 24 points and 8 rebounds. The Tide were unable to get help from beyond the arc as they shot only 19% from three point land, to the Slam’s 43%.

 

The Tide made a great comeback against the Bellingham, but in the end, were not able to hold it until the finish. Whether playing two games in as many days prior to Thursday afternoon was the difference down the stretch is tough to pinpoint. What can be said is that the Tide battled until the final whistle and brought basketball pride back to Tacoma.