Center Dillion Sneed sored 33 points on 12-for-15 shooting and raked in 13 rebounds to lead the host Iwate Big Bulls to a 102-67 victory over the winless Gunma Crane Thunders on Saturday in the bj-league.
Kenichi Takahashi scored 17 points, connecting on 3 of 4 3-pointers and Naoto Nakamura buried 4 of 7 3s as Iwate improved to 7-0 under bench boss Dai Oketani, who guided the Ryukyu Golden Kings to their second championship last season.
The expansion Crane Thunders fell to 0-7. They have lost their last three games by a combined 116 points.
Lewis Witcher had a team-best 17 points for Gunma.
Albirex BB 78, B-Corsairs 75
In Toyano, Niigata Prefecture, Nile Murry and Kimitake Sato each had 15 points and the hosts edged Yokohama.
Big man Chris Holm added 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for the Albirex. Rodney had 10 points and 10 boards.
Draelon Burns paced the B-Corsairs with 16 points and five assists. Pape Faye Mour had 15 points before fouling out and Masayuki Kababya finished with 14 points.
After the game, Yokohama coach Reggie Geary said, “(It was a) tough physical game tonight where we played well for 35 minutes, but were unable to take advantage of the good opportunities offensively that we had in the fourth and down the stretch. Both team displayed good fight tonight and we know we’re in for another competitive game tomorrow.”
The B-Corsairs shot 4-for-19 on 3s. They had only nine turnovers.
Golden Kings 79, Lakestars 68
In Okinawa City, Anthony McHenry’s all-around excellence guided the defending champions to a triumph over Shiga.
McHenry, the reigning playoff MVP, had 23 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals as Ryukyu improved to 5-0.
Tsubasa Yonamine scored 17 points and Jeff Newton contributed nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Kings.
Alfred Aboya and Wayne Arnold finished with 13 points apiece for the Lakestars.
Brave Warriors 83, Jets 76
In Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, Takato Saito scored 18 points and five teammates scored in double figures in a victory over the hosts.
Joe Warner led the Jets with 36 points and 18 rebounds in a game played before an announced crowd of 396.
Phoenix 99, Susanoo Magic 86
In Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Jeffrey Parmer and Kevin Galloway both had 22-point performances and Shoji Nakanishi poured in 21 points as Hamamatsu Higashimikawa handed Shimane its first loss of the season.
For the Magic (4-1), Michael Parker was the leading scorer with 20 points along with 11 rebounds.
Shimane shot 24-for-36 at the charity stripe.
HeatDevils 96, Miyazaki 84
In Miyazaki, Oita outscored the hosts 30-16 in the pivotal third quarter en route to victory.
Cyrus Tate scored 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting and Wendell White had 20 points and 16 rebounds for the HeatDevils. Kazuya “J.” Hatano added 18 points and seven boards for Oita.
Larriques Cunningham had a 21-point outing for the Shining Suns.
Rizing 92, Hannaryz 84
In Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, center Julius Ashby scored 20 points off the bench and Josh Peppers contributed 18 as Fukuoka picked up a victory in the series opener.
Rookie Zane Johnson, a University of Hawaii alum, pumped in a career-high 17 points, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range. The 23-year-old guard’s point total has increased in each of the Rizing’s five games this season — from zero to three to nine to 10 in the previous four contests. Jun Nakanishi had 11 points and Satoshi Ishitani scored 10. Reggie Warren finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Kyoto, a Final Four team last season, fell to 0-5 despite shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-for-16), 52.5 percent from 2-point range and outrebounding the visitors (41-39). David Palmer paced the Hannaryz with 20 points and drained 10 of 10 free throws, Yu Okada had an 18-point effort, Marcus Cousin notched a double-double (17 points, 10 boards) and Masaharu Kataoka scored 13.
The Rizing (2-3) scored 50 second-half points.
Grouses 82, Cinq Reves 73
In Tokyo, Angel Garcia, a University of Memphis product, scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Ira Brown had 17 points and nine boards as Toyama downed the hosts to earn a series sweep.
The Grouses improved to 5-3 under first-year coach Bob Nash. Masashi Joho contributed 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win. Jeremy Jacob and Tatsunori Fujie each had 12 points, the latter sinking 4 of 6 3s.
Tokyo (2-4) dropped its third game in a row. Center Jared Carter scored 19 points and Jonathan Jones poured in 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for the second straight game. Hirohisa Takada added 12 points for the hosts and Akihito Inoue scored 11.
Toyama made 13 steals.