Marquise Gray, a Michigan State alum, scored 14 points and pulled down 24 rebounds and Masayuki Kabaya and Omar Reed added 15 points apiece to lead the Yokohama B-Corsairs to a 77-69 triumph over the visiting Sendai 89ers on Friday night.
Five B-Corsairs players reached double figures in scoring, including big man Wayne Marshall (12 points) and guard Kenji Yamada (11). Reed knocked down all four of his 3-point shots, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists in the bj-league series opener in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Yokohama has now won back-to-back games for the first time this season, including its series finale against the Saitama Broncos on Sunday.
Led by Gray's stellar effort, the defending champion B-Corsairs dominated on the boards, collecting 57 rebounds, 21 more than the 89ers (2-5).
Yokohama shot 15-for-22 at the free-throw line; Sendai went 8-for-8.
Wendell White paced the 89ers with 23 points and 15 rebounds. James Hughes contributed 12 points for Sendai, with Takehiko Shimura and Fumiya Sato both scoring 11. Shimura had a team-best five assists.
Postponed: The Oita HeatDevils-Bambitious Nara game on Friday night was postponed due to Typhoon Francisco. The contest, which was to be held in Oita, may still be made up at a later date, but details were unavailable at press time. Another game is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.
The HeatDevils are currently 2-4, while the expansion Bambitious are 0-6.