Sidelined for seven games with foot and ankle ailments, forward Ray Nixon returned to the Shiga Lakestars lineup on Saturday and helped the Western Conference club defeat the visiting Akita Northern Happinets 84-67 in their bj-league series opener.
The University of Wisconsin product nailed a pair of 3-point shots and finished with eight points, two rebounds and a blocked shot off the bench.
Shiga (31-18) got 19 points apiece from Wayne Arnold and Yutaka Yokoe. Arnold added 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals in a well-rounded effort, and Yokoe contributed six boards and five assists. Shelton Colwell had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Jumpei Nakama scored 11 points.