Basketball fans are witnessing a classic dogfight in the bj-league's Eastern Conference as the Akita Northern Happinets and Toyama Grouses vie for the regular-season conference crown.

Both teams have 14 games left until the playoffs and are separated by one game in the victory column. In other words, it's terrific drama.

Akita (30-8) has held the top spot the entire season, starting out with a 12-game winning streak to open the season.

But Toyama (29-9) has crept closer and closer in recent weeks. The biggest key? The Grouses are 16-4 on the road.

Both teams have been blessed with great success on the road — Akita is 15-5 in away games. (But the Happinets had lost four straight games, including two to the Grouses on Feb. 15 and 16, before a 25-point victory over the Aomori Wat's — see below — on Sunday.)

The Grouses topped the Saitama Broncos 81-79 on Sunday, and they've won eight of their last 10 games.

Toyama's latest triumph featured a hard-nosed effort by center Sam Willard (16 points, 18 rebounds). Ira Brown added 18 points and nine rebounds and Takeshi Mito scored 14 points. Fiery guard Masashi Joho had 13 points and handed out six assists in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture.

John Humphrey led Saitama (4-32) with 32 points on 11-for-27 shooting. Mark Dawson finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Joiner had 11 points and 11 boards.

Northern Happinets 79, Wat's 54

In Aomori, Akita snapped its aforementioned losing streak and salvaged a series split.

Chas McFarland (16 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks) and Ruben Boykin (14 points, 17 rebounds) provided the inside muscle for the Happinets, while Richard Roby poured in a team-high 21 points. Guards Shigehiro Taguchi and Yuki Togashi had 14 and 12 points, respectively. Togashi also dished out 11 assists.

For the Wat's, a first-year franchise, Gordon Klaiber scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Abdullahi Kuso chipped in with 13 points and 13 boards. Yuta Kojima added 11 points for Aomori (17-19).

Brave Warriors 88, B-Corsairs 68

In Okaya, Nagano Prefecture, Xavier Gibson, one of the league's top newcomers this season, had 22 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks to energize the hosts in a bounce-back victory over Yokohama.

Patrick Sanders pumped in 20 points, Jeff Parmer added 14 points and four steals and Yosuke Saito scored 13 points.

Shinshu improved to 23-13. Defending champion Yokohama fell to 17-19.

Yosuke Maeda paced the B-Corsairs with 16 points and Masayuki Kabaya scored 10. Omar Reed finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Teammate Marcus Simmons had nine points.

Yokohama missed 14 of 18 3-point shots and shot 10-for-21 at the free-throw line.

Taking stock of Gibson's overall defensive effort this season, Parmer told The Japan Times his impact has been profound.

"It has been great for us as a team," Parmer said on Sunday. "Just knowing if you mess up a defensive assignment he's always there to protect the rim and help his teammates. He's starting to really understand the defensive schemes (Brave Warriors coach) Ryuji (Kawai) is putting in place for us as a team. We need that great defensive effort from X every single night."

Albirex BB 76, Big Bulls 70

In Niigata, balanced scoring carried the hosts to a victory over Iwate.

Patrick Sullivan scored 15 points for the Albirex (24-14), who lost the series opener. Thomas Kennedy had 14, Nile Murry netted 12 and Rodney Webb 10.

The Big Bulls (26-10) were 2-for-16 on 3-point attempts. Scootie Randall led the visitors with 23 points, including 11-for-12 at the foul line. Lawrence Blackledge supplied 14 points and nine boards, Gyno Pomare had a 11-point afternoon and Kenichi Takahashi added 10 points.

Lakestars 85, Cinq Reves 82

In Ome, Tokyo, red-hot Shiga overcame a 13-point deficit after the opening quarter and picked up its second win in as many days over the hosts.

Jumpei Nakama sank 5 of 7 3s en route to a team-high 17 points for the Lakestars (21-17), winners of four straight and nine of their last 10 games.

Shiga All-Star forward Marshall Brown had 16 points and Dionisio Gomez, Yutaka Yokoe and Brandon Fields all had 13 points apiece.

Ricky Woods had 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Tokyo (10-26) and Yuji Ide scored 20 points. Anthony Stover finished with 15 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks.

89ers 86, Crane Thunders 84

In Ota, Gunma Prefecture, Sendai converted 58 percent of its shots from inside the arc, which played a pivotal role in its down-to-the-wire triumph over the Crane Thunders.

DeAngelo Hamilton notched a double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds), Wendell White poured in 20 points and Travele Jones had 19. Dzaflo Larkai contributed 10 points for the 89ers (17-19), who dropped the series opener.

Gunma big man Dillion Sneed scored 30 points on 13-for-17 shooting and hauled in 15 rebounds. Kenya Tomori had 18 points and Carlos Dixon scored 15 for Gunma (8-28).

Evessa 91, Hannaryz 78

In Osaka, coach Shunsuke Todo's team forced 16 turnovers and committed only seven to defeat Kyoto in the series finale.

Kevin Galloway's 21-point, nine-rebound, five-assist, three-steal outing sparked the Evessa (16-22) and D'Andre Bell had 18 points. Takanori Goya and Darko Cohadarevic both scored 12 points.

Yu Okada led the Hannaryz (24-16) with 19 points and six assists and former Washington Wizard Edwin Ubiles had 14 points. Joe Werner scored 13 points and Shun Watanuki had 13. David Palmer scored six points on 2-for-10 shooting against his former club.

Bambitious 95, Five Arrows 84

In Takamatsu, Nara used double-digit scoring efforts by seven players to prevail against the hosts.

Anthony Brown scored 21 points, Joe Chapman supplied 18 and Jamar Abrams and Taishi Kasahara contributed 12 apiece for the Bambitious (12-24). Jumpei Honda had an 11-point game, Tatsuya Suzuki had 10 points and five assists and Adrian Moss finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Dexter Lyons poured in 20 points for the Five Arrows (15-23) and Sean Smith scored 15. Paul Williams added 12 points and 13 rebounds, Tsubasa Yonezawa scored 11 points and Hiroyuki Kikuchi had nine.

Golden Kings 84, Susanoo Magic 59

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Ryukyu scored 21 more points from beyond the 3-point arc than the hosts, and it helped the Western Conference leader wrap up a two-game sweep.

With his teammates knocking down timely shots from the perimeter, big man Kibwe Trim thrived inside for the Golden Kings (31-5), scoring 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting and pulling down 13 rebounds. Shigeyuki Kinjo had 16 points and floor leader Anthony McHenry finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Ryuichi Kishimoto scored 10 points.

For Shimane (7-29), T.J. Cummings had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Shawn Malloy added 12 points and 12 boards. Edward Yamamoto and Tatsuhiro Yokoo both had 10 points.