Sometimes basic fundamentals prove to be the most crucial ingredients to a victory in pro sports.

Exhibit A: Saturday's Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix-Takamatsu Five Arrows game.

The score was tied 39-39 at halftime, and only one player, Takamatsu's B.J. Puckett reached 20 points (exactly) for the night.

So, in essence, it came down to free throws. The Phoenix converted 17 of 20; the Five Arrows made 9 of 20, and lost 82-68 in their bj-league series opener.

More evidence: Hamamatsu had 14 offensive rebounds, with many more opportunities for second-chance points; Takamatsu was held to six.

Puckett led his club in rebounds (eight). Former University of North Carolina Tar Heel Justin Watts had 11 points and three assists, while Five Arrows star Dexter Lyons supplied nine points and Koki Yabuuchi had eight with four steals before a spirited crowd of 2,518 at Hamamatsu Arena.

For the triumphant hosts, Hiroki Furuhashi scored a team-high 14 points, including 4-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Nile Murry added 11 points and Mo Charlo and Shinnosuke Oishi had 10 apiece. Charlo, a University of Nevada alum, also contributed 10 boards, seven assists, two steals and two blocks.

The Phoenix outscored the Five Arrows 26-14 in the third quarter to grab momentum.

Golden Kings 67, Susanoo Magic 53

In Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Draelon Burns scored 18 points off the bench, Anthony McHenry put his imprint on the game with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks and Kibwe Trim had a 14-point effort as defending champion Ryukyu rolled past struggling Shimane.

The Golden Kings held the Magic to 25 second-half points.

Isiah Brown was Shimane's high scorer with 13 points and Bingo Merriex had 11.

Big Bulls 69, Crane Thunders 58

In Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, on a night when the long-range shots weren't flying through the net for coach Dai Oketani's Big Bulls, the visitors did several other things well to escape with a win.

Iwate made just 2 of 25 3-pointers, but Scootie Randall (24 points, 11 rebounds), Lawrence Blackledge (20 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and three blocks) and Wayne Arnold (10 points) carried the Big Bulls on offense. Jun Nakanishi and Tsubasa Yonamine each had three assists.

Carlos Dixon scored 19 points and former NBA center Melvin Ely had 16 points and 12 rebounds with two blocks and one assists in 26:43 of court time for Gunma, which fell to 0-3 under sideline boss Charlie Parker, a longtime NBA assistant coach.

Both teams struggled to make shots at the outset, with Iwate taking an 8-6 lead into the second quarter before an announced crowd of 504.

89ers 91, Albirex BB 80

In Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, Kejuan Johnson scored 26 points, including 9-for-10 at the free-throw line, and Wendell White poured in 22 points as the hosts defeated Niigata.

The 89ers got 17 points from DeAngelo Hamilton and 16 from Fumiya Sato, who buried 4 of 9 3-point attempts. Floor leader Takehiko Shimura added six points, eight assists and three steals before an announced crowd of 1,210 in the coastal city devastated by the March 11, 2011, disasters.

The Albirex were called for 27 fouls. The 89ers amassed 11.

Sendai made 24 of 31 free throws; Niigata converted 4 of 5.

The 89ers scored 36 fourth-quarter points to put the game out of reach.

Patrick Sullivan paced the Albirex with 24 points, Thomas Kennedy scored 13, Yuichi Ikeda had 12 and Kimitake Sato 11. Big man Stephan Van Treese scored nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Hirotaka Kondo made six steals.

Northern Happinets 102, Firebonds 81

In Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture, Richard Roby's 22-point effort, Ruben Boykin's 18 points and eight assists and torrid 3-point shooting for the second straight day propelled Akita to a series sweep over the hosts.

The Happinets canned 14 of 30 3s a day after hitting 13 of 19. Akitomo Takeno sank all five of his 3-point shots in a 17-point, seven-assist performance, while Yuto Otsuka drained 4 of 9 for all of his 12 points. Shigehiro Taguchi finished with 18 points and Deshawn Stephens added 10 points. Boykin pulled down 12 rebounds.

Akita led 34-16 after the opening quarter.

Masaya Karimata had 24 points and eight assists for Fukushima, a first-year franchise that has lost four straight games. Teammate Terrance Shannon, who's averaging 16.7 points and 13.2 rebounds through six games, chipped in with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Edward Morris scored 15 points and Atsushi Nogami scored nine.

Hannaryz 91, Bambitious 53

In Kyoto, six Hannaryz players reached double figures in scoring and the hosts routed Nara for their second victory in as many days.

Reggie Warren led Kyoto (6-0) with 13 points, Takuya Komoda, Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Kevin Kotzur all had 12 points, David Palmer netted 11 and Shun Watanuki dropped 10 on the Bambitious.

Kyoto shot 60.5 percent from inside the arc, including Kotzur's 6-for-7.

Andre Murray was Nara's high scorer with 15 points and Chehales Tapscott added 11.

The Hannaryz out-rebounded the visitors 48-26.

B-Corsairs 75, Wat's 68

In Aomori, Warren Niles scored 22 points and Wayne Marshall put 15 on the board as Yokohama prevailed in the series opener.

Dzaflo Larkai added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Masayuki Kabaya scored 12 points for the B-Corsairs, who led 40-25 at intermission.

Gyno Pomare had 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting and raked in 15 rebounds for Aomori. Kyle Richardson and Kenichi Takahashi had 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Wat's missed 15 of 18 3-point attempts.

Cinq Reves 91, Brave Warriors 72

In Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture, Jemal Farmer had a game-high 32 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for Tokyo in a runaway win over Shinshu.

Farmer sank 5 of 11 3s, and teammate Yuji Ide had 12 points (all on 3s) with eight assists. Will Foster, a Gonzaga alum, was a menace in the paint with 18 points (9-for-11 shooting, four dunks), 13 rebounds and six blocks. Isamu Omori contributed nine points.

For the Brave Warriors, Mohamed Abukar had a team-best 18 points and Patrick Sanders scored 14. Carl Hall and Shoji Nakanishi finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Jermaine Dixon handed out six assists.

Grouses 95, Broncos 87

In Saitama, reigning regular-season MVP Masashi Joho's 20-point, six-assist effort and Joe Werner's 19 points sparked Toyama to a road win to kick off the weekend series.

Keyon Carter provided a double-double (18 points, 10 boards) for the Grouses, Sam Willard added 14 points, 13 rebounds and four assists and Jamelle Horne, a former University of Arizona player, scored a season-high 10.

Trailing 21-18 after one quarter, Toyama increased its scoring output in each of the final three quarters — 22, 24 and 31.

Gary Johnson led the Broncos (0-5) with 26 points and Brian Ormon scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Koji Nagata had 12 points with four assists.

Lakestars 81, Evessa 59

In Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Yu Okada's 3-point daggers — five of them — and 27 overall points pushed the Lakestars past their Kansai rivals.

Shiga improved to 5-0 under first-year coach Koto Toyama.

Lakestars forward Jeff Parmer finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Terrance Woodbury had 10 points, Chris Holm scored seven and hauled in 12 rebounds and Ray Nixon added four steals.

For Osaka, which has lost four straight games since opening the season with a win, Joshua Dollard led the squad with 22 points and Shota Konno scored 12.

The Lakestars won the battle on the boards (54-35).

HeatDevils 91, Rizing 83

In Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Dememetri McCamey scored 23 points and Drew Barham had 17 points as Oita topped the hosts.

Taishiro Shimizu added 15 points and four steals and Todd O'Brien had 10 points, four steals and a pair of blocks for the HeatDevils.

Cooper Land paced Fukuoka with 18 points, Josh Peppers scored 17 and Kirk Van Slyke added 10.