The Toyama Grouses have traveled to Kanto twice over the past eight days to face Tokyo-area teams. Maybe the expression "home sweet home" should be altered for Toyama's sake — with the current emphasis on road trips.

Coach Bob Nash's club swept the Tokyo Cinq Reves in a series that ended last Monday. And then for the traditional two-game weekend series, the Grouses took on Nash's former team, the Saitama Broncos.

It was business as usual for star guard Masashi Joho and the Grouses, who completed a series sweep with a 90-77 victory on Sunday in Saitama.

Joho had 18 points and six assists and Sam Willard contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Tatsunori Fujie scored 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting and Jamelle Horne and Joe Werner both had 12 points for the Grouses (5-1)

Toyama made 31 of 50 shots (62 percent) from inside the arc. The Broncos were held to 30-for-81 shooting.

For Saitama (0-6), Gary Johnson finished with 29 points, Koji Nagata had 21 and Yuki Sasaki 10. Brian Ormon contributed eight points and 11 rebounds.

Evessa 90, Lakestars 66

In Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Joshua Dollard's 24-point, 12-rebound, four-steal performance led Osaka to a bounce-back victory over the previously unbeaten Lakestars.

Dollard, an Auburn University alum, made 8 of 8 free throws as the Evessa improved to 2-4 under second-year coach Shunsuke Todo.

Takuma Soma poured in 20 points, Shota Konno had 16 and Seth Tarver pumped in 10. Gary Hamilton made his presence felt with nine points, eight boards, six assists and three steals.

In a post-game interview with The Japan Times, Dollard gave credit to God for the team's performance.

"I want to thank God first because he gave us the ability to go out there and play the game we love," Dollard said. "It feels good to go in Shiga and come out with a win after three straight losses. It gives us confidence going into next weekend, where we will be playing at home in front of our fans, so it feels good."

Asked if he was pleased with his play on Sunday, Dollard responded with this assessment: "I always felt confident with my role on this team, and I am highly confident in this team as well. We have a lot of good individual talent on this team, so you have a lot of diversity to what you can do, when you have that around you. It allows us to flourish as a player in all areas, not just scoring and rebounding, but defensively as well. This type of team makes you feel confident about your play, because they have a lot of talent, they believe in you just as much."

Terrance Woodbury paced Shiga (5-1) with 15 points. Ray Nixon and Jeff Parmer scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, and Yu Okada had nine. Shinya Ogawa dished out six assists and Chris Holm grabbed 10 rebounds.

Rizing 77, HeatDevils 66

In Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Josh Peppers put his stamp on the game with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Cooper Land scored 16 points as the Rizing earned a weekend split against Oita.

Greg Logins, a Canisius College product, chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds for Fukuoka (2-4), Keisuke Takabatake poured in 10 points and Cohey Aoki had a seven-point afternoon.

Todd O'Brien carried the HeatDevils (1-5) with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, while Kellen Thornton scored 13 points and Hiroki Oshiro had 10.

Golden Kings 62, Susanoo Magic 52

In Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Kibwe Trim lifted the defending champions to their second victory in as many days over Shimane.

The Sacred Heart University alum made 12 of 16 shots in a 26-point, 16-rebound, two-steal effort. Ryuichi Kishimoto and Morihisa Yamauchi scored eight points apiece, with teammate Draelon Burns providing seven points and two steals.

League legend Anthony McHenry, a star on all three Golden Kings championship teams, struggled to hit shots (1-for-11 on the game, three points), but was a force in other areas, ending up with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal while providing his trademark tenacious defense.

Ryukyu (5-1) managed to converted only one of its 16 3-point shots.

Edward Yamamoto led the Susanoo Magic (0-6) with 13 points and James Padgett scored 10. Shuichi Takada and Tatsuhiro Yokoo added nine points apiece. Isiah Brown was the team's top rebounder with 10.

In the past four games, Shimane has scored 49, 52, 53 and 52 points in succession.

Big Bulls 84, Crane Thunders 70

In Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, Scootie Randall spent nearly as much time at the free-throw line (12-for-13) as it takes to eat a full-course meal, and that was a good omen for Iwate, which earned a series sweep.

Randall had a game-high 25 points with 10 rebounds and four assists and Hayato Kantake added a season-high 19 points. Wayne Arnold scored 11 points and Lawrence Blackledge finished with 10 points and three blocks for the Big Bulls (5-1). Tsubasa Yonamine added nine points and eight assists and Masato Tsukino collected three steals.

Iwate's offense clicked, chalking up 22 assists against 10 turnovers.

After the game, Randall took stock of his team's current place in the league.

"I think we are a very good team," the Temple University alum told this newspaper. "As are so many teams in this league, (we are) still putting pieces where they fit best. It's still early in the season, so we are still adjusting like others, but we are working hard as a whole to be better."

Carlos Dixon scored 18 points with four assists for Gunma (0-4). Yusuke Kodera scored 12 points, Masanobu Ito had 11 and Kenya Tomori dished out six assists. Former NBA center Melvin Ely added seven points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal in 21-plus minutes before fouling out.

"I think that we still have a long season," Dixon told The Japan Times, looking ahead to the Crane Thunders' next 48 games.

After consecutive weekend sweeps against Shiga and Iwate to open the season, Dixon is looking at the big picture: improvement.

"We started with two of the top teams in the league. So I think that we have time to get better as a team and win many games," he said.

Wat's 75, B-Corsairs 67

In Aomori, big man Paul Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Damian Saunders' productivity steered the hosts to a win over Yokohama as they salvaged a weekend split.

Saunders scored 12 points, hauled in 10 rebounds and made four steals, while Yuta Kojima poured in 11 points and Gyno Pomare had 10 for Aomori (4-2).

Warren Niles and Dzaflo Larkai each had 15 points for the B-Corsairs (3-3), Wayne Marshall scored 11 and Masayuki Kabaya had 10. Larkai also pulled down 15 rebounds.

Albirex BB 76, 89ers 71

In Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, Patrick Sullivan scored 19 points, Thomas Kennedy contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds and Niigata prevented Sendai from recording back-to-back wins over the weekend.

Longtime Albirex forward Yuichi Ikeda had a 15-point game and Hirotaka Kondo continued his productive play from the backcourt, supplying seven points, seven assists and two steals.

Niigata is 4-2 now as the season's third week wrapped up. Sendai dropped to 3-3.

Wendell White led the 89ers with 22 points, Takehiko Shimura had 15 points, five assists and three steals and DeAngelo Hamilton nearly notched a double-double (nine points, 13 rebounds).

Phoenix 79, Five Arrows 71

In Hamamatsu, Olu Ashaolu had a team-high 19 points and fellow newcomers Nile Murry and Mo Charlo each scored 14 as the hosts prevailed against Takamatsu.

Shinnosuke Oishi contributed 10 points and Masahiro Oguchi scored eight for the Phoenix (5-1).

The Five Arrows (2-4) have lost four straight games.

B.J. Puckett led Takamatsu with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting and Andrais Thornton added 10.

Brave Warriors 87, Cinq Reves 75

In Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture, Carl Hall's imposing dominance near the basket propelled Shinshu to a victory over Tokyo, which won the series opener.

The Wichita State alum's 16-point, 21-rebound (10 offensive boards), three-block outing provided major highlights for the Brave Warriors (2-2), as did center Mohamed Abukar's 19 points. Teammates Patrick Sanders and Shoji Nakanishi had 15 and 12 points, respectively, and Jermaine Dixon poured in 10.

Jemal Farmer was Tokyo's top scorer with 16 points. Michael Hart added 14 points, Kento Sakka put 10 on the board and Yuji Ide finished with

eight points and five assists. Center Will Foster had nine points and 12 rebounds.