Kevin Galloway scored a season-best 36 points and handed out five of his team's nine assists as Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix topped the host Takamatsu Five Arrows 93-82 on Friday in the bj-league.
Galloway, a Texas Southern product, shot 10-for-13 from inside the 3-point arc and flushed 4 of 8 shots from long range. He added eight rebounds and a steal in nearly 29 sensational minutes in the series-opening victory. (Earlier this season, he had 28- and 29-point performances, and is averaging 18.8 points per game.)
Hamamatsu, playing in the Western Conference this season after four seasons as an Eastern Conference powerhouse, improved to 8-5 overall, 2-3 on the road.
Shoji Nakanishi had 13 points for the Phoenix, who led 46-33 at halftime.
Jeffrey Parmer and Tsubasa Yonezawa scored nine points apiece for the visitors and Elbert Fuqua had eight points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks
For the Five Arrows (3-6), Dexter Lyons was the high scorer with 17 points and Paul Williams and Robert Johnson both had 14. Hiroyuki Kikuchi scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds, with two assists, one steal and one block. Daisuke Tamura poured in nine points and Masaaki Suzuki had eight points and three assists.
Takamatsu had 16 turnovers, while Hamamatsu made eight.
The Phoenix collected nine steals to the hosts' four.
Both teams were 15-for-22 from the free-throw line.
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Update from Europe: Former Sendai 89ers standout Johnny Dukes is averaging 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in six games for Stella Artois Leuven Bears in the Belgian League.
