Playing on the one-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Sendai 89ers gave their rabid Tohoku fans a heart-warming 73-65 victory to savor, and they salvaged a series split on Sunday in the bj-league.
Johnny Dukes poured in 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting and Dan Fitzgerald added 19 points as the fifth-place 89ers improved to 19-19 and completed a four-game road trip in Kyushu.
Filip Toncinic scored 11 points, captain Takehiko "Take" Shimura chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists and big man Rashaad Singleton supplied 11 boards and four blocked shots toward the winning cause in Fukuoka.