David Palmer scored a team-high 19 points and Gyno Pomare poured in 14 as the Kyoto Hannaryz topped the visiting Takamatsu Five Arrows 80-69 on Saturday.
Coach Honoo Hamaguchi’s club is among the league’s hottest teams right now, the Hannaryz (5-8) winning their fifth straight game and doing so with strong free-throw shooting (16-for-20) and rebounding (41-33 edge on the boards).
Former Utah Jazz forward Marcus Cousin contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds for Kyoto, which led 67-48 after three quarters. Yu Okada and Jermain Boyette each scored nine points for the hosts.
Brandon Penn led Takamatsu (4-7) with 15 points and sank 4 of 6 3-point shots. Dexter Lyons and Robert Johnson had 13 points apiece, with Johnson making seven steals.
Susanoo Magic 87, Evessa 84
In Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Shimane edged Osaka to record a series sweep.
The Evessa, who won championships in each of the league’s first three seasons, fell to 1-9, by far their worst start in franchise history.
Michael Parker scored 26 points for the Susanoo Magic (8-5) with seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists and Jeral Davis scored 16. Shohei Nakama added 11 points.
Nathan Walkup paced Osaka with 27 points, including 16-for-16 at the free-throw line. Rick Rickert had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Mike Bell finished with 19 points, 10 boards, six assists and five steals in his second game after rejoining the club.
The Evessa were 26-for-37 at the foul line.
B-Corsairs 98, Big Bulls 61
In Yokohama, Thomas Kennedy, Draelon Burns and Paul Butorac combined for 69 points and the hosts bounced back from an overtime loss to salvage a series split.
The B-Corsairs improved to 7-5; the Eastern Conference-leading Big Bulls fell to 11-3.
Kennedy had 28 points, Burns scored 23 and Butorac had 18. Kenji Yamada handed out six assists.
Yokohama shot 61.5 percent (24 of 39) from inside the 3-point arc and 40.7 percent (11 of 27) from beyond. The B-Corsairs had 24 assists and six turnovers
Iwate trailed 52-31 at halftime.
Kenichi Takahashi led the Big Bulls with 13 points, Dillion Sneed scored 10 and Lawrence Blackledge nine.
Brave Warriors 84, Cinq Reves 73
In Saku, Nagano Prefecture, Jermaine Green scored 20 points and Wayne Marshall poured in 19 as Shinshu beat Tokyo.
Edward Morris contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds and Takanori Goya had 10 points for the Brave Warriors (8-5).
Trailing 40-32 at intermission, Shinshu’s offense picked up steam in the second half with 52 points.
For the Cinq Reves (5-8), Jonathan Jones had a team-high 16 points on 5-for-20 shooting with 11 rebounds. Dennis Carr had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Cohey Aoki and Rasheem Barrett scored 11 points apiece for the expansion team. Jared Carter chipped in with 10 points and four blocks.
89ers 107, Crane Thunders 79
In Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, balanced scoring carried Sendai to a one-sided win over the hosts.
Sam Coleman had a team-best 18 points for the 89ers (4-7) and Kevin Coble scored 17. Yasuaki Arai scored 15 points, Takehiko Shimura and Takuya “Taku” Komoda had 14 apiece, while Karron Clarke scored 10 and sank all four of his shots, including both 3-point attempts. Sam Willard finished with 11 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.
“All wins are great, but this was one of those rare ones that goes into the 1969-70 New York Knicks tribute file, with seven players scoring in double figures,” 89ers coach Bob Pierce told The Japan Times.
“After watching video of how well Gunma played at Tokyo, our players stayed focused all week on the things we needed to do to win today. The proof was that we had seven players in double figures tonight. This was also Taku’s third game in a row in double figures, which means he’s starting to assert himself more, which was one of our goals at the beginning of the season.”
Lewis Witcher scored 21 points for Gunma (1-14).
Lakestars 78, Phoenix 69
In Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shinya Ogawa scored 15 points, Jumpei Nakama had a 14-point outing and Shiga topped Hamamatsu Higashimikawa.
The Phoenix (8-7) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Ray Nixon recorded a double-double (13 points, 12 boards) and Alfred Aboya scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Ogawa had six steals along with five rebounds and five assists.
Shiga improved to 7-6.
Kevin Galloway led Hamamatsu with 18 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and Elbert Fuqua scored 13 points, Adrian Thomas had 12 and Shoji Nakanishi 10. The Phoenix had a poor shooting game, going 25-for-78 from the field.
Albirex BB 88, Grouses 76
In Toyama, Kimitake Sato buried 5 of 6 3-pointers and Nile Murry hit 4 of 6 as Niigata defeated the hosts in a clash of Eastern Conference rivals.
Sato finished with a game-high 21 points, Murry scored 20 with seven rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. Shuhei Komatsu scored 11 points (3-for-5 on 3s), Rodney Webb and Yuichi Ikeda each had nine and Marquise Gray and Chris Holm both had eight.
Webb grabbed 13 boards and Holm hauled in 11 as the Albirex (9-4) collected 56 rebounds, seven more than the Grouses.
All five Toyama starters reached double figures in scoring: Angel Garcia (18 points), Masashi Joho and Ira Brown (14 apiece), Takeshi Mito and Tatsunori Fujie (both with 10).
The Grouses (9-6) were outscored by 16 points in the middle two quarters.
HeatDevils 77, Shining Suns 72
In Saeki, Oita Prefecture, Cyrus Tate scored 26 points and collected 19 rebounds to lead cash-strapped Oita past Miyazaki, which has lost 12 straight games.
Taishiro Shimizu had 19 points for the HeatDevils (9-4), Taj Finger scored 12 and Matt Lottich had nine. Kazuya “J.” Hatano supplied six points and five boards for the hosts.
Dominique Keller scored 22 points and Hiroki Oshiro had 13 for the Shining Suns (1-12).
Golden Kings 80, Rizing 71
In Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, defending champion Ryukyu remains the league’s lone unbeaten team after a series-opening win over Fukuoka.
Dzaflo Larkai scored 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting, Narito Namizato had 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals and Naoto Kosuge added 12 points for the Golden Kings (11-0). Anthony McHenry, the 2011-12 playoff MVP, chipped in with 11 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks for coach Koto Toyama’s squad.
Julius Ashby was the Rizing’s leading scorer (21 points) and rebounder (11). Josh Peppers scored 18 points for Fukuoka (8-5) and Reggie Warren had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
The Rizing missed 16 of 20 3s.
Northern Happinets 88, Jets 73
In Akita, T.J. Cummings scored 28 points, Anthony Kent had 19 points and 12 rebounds and the hosts improved to 9-2 with a solid victory over Chiba.
Joe Werner had 24 points and 11 boards and D’Andre Bell scored 16 points for the Jets, who fell to 4-7.
Akita outscored Chiba 28-7 in the third quarter. Ten Happinets players had at least one assist.