Fujisawa, Kanagawa Pref. –

The Akita Northern Happinets have assembled a roster that has an abundance of players capable of knocking down a 3-point dagger at any moment.

The Yokohama B-Corsairs witnessed that aforementioned fact during 40 tough minutes on Sunday afternoon, getting repeatedly burned from the perimeter by Happinets coach Makoto Hasegawa's merry band of perimeter marksmen (12-for-28).

Five Akita players — Shigehiro Taguchi, Akitomo Takeno, Yuto Otsuka, Richard Roby and Ruben Boykin — all found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc. All made two except Otsuka, who drained 3 of 5, in the Happinets' 92-74 victory over Yokohama.

Akita improved to 8-2; Yokohama fell to 3-7, losing its fifth straight game.

The Happinets, who led 41-32 at halftime, scored 32 third-quarter points in a run-and-gun showdown with the B-Corsairs, who had 29 points in the period, with big man Dzaflo Laraki (26 points, 14 rebounds) making his presence felt in the low post on repeated putback attempts and various other inside shots.

Truth be told, though, the Happinets' high-octane offense was clicking on all cylinders as the game entered the fourth.

Akita outscored Yokohama 22-10 in the final stanza.

Defense also fueled the victory, including nine blocks (three apiece by Roby and Tyran Carter). Boykin also added a block that led to an outlet pass that led to a Roby putback and a 75-64 Happinets lead early in the fourth.

Deshawn Stephens' emphatic jam with about 5:50 to play made it 81-69 and signaled, barring an amazing comeback, that Akita had sealed the win.

Takeno directed the offense with confidence and effective playmaking, finishing with 11 points and 10 assists. Roby scored a team-best 22 points, Taguchi poured in 13, Otsuka and Boykin had 12 and Stephens 10.

Warren Niles scored 14 points for the B-Corsairs, while Wayne Marshall, Yosuke Saito and Kenji Yamada had eight apiece. Masayuki Kabaya was held to four points on 2-for-10 shooting.

It was "another tough loss for us," Larkai told The Japan Times. "The mood before the game was to stay together no matter what, and fight. We had times where things were rolling in our favor.

"But small mistakes over the 40-minute period just accumulated, and we couldn't bounce back. We're close to turning things around. A little more tweaking and we'll be there. But it's been a tough start to the beginning of the season."

Brave Warriors 91, Broncos 81

In Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, Carl Hall stuffed the stat sheet with 33 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks to lead the hosts to their second triumph in as many days over Saitama.

Mohamed Abukar scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Patrick Sanders put 17 points on the board for Shinshu (4-4). Takato Saito scored eight points and dished out five assists.

Gary Johnson scored 23 points for the Broncos (0-10), who trailed 72-51 after three quarters. Brian Ormon contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds, Yuki Sasaki had 13 points and Junya Masumoto added eight points and eight assists.

Albirex BB 81, Crane Thunders 71

In Ota, Gunma Prefecture, Thomas Kennedy's 26-point, 12-rebound performance and Yuichi Ikeda's 19 points guided Niigata past the struggling Crane Thunders.

Kennedy canned five 3-pointers. Ikeda sank 9 of 10 free throws for the Albirex (8-2). Patrick Sullivan and Kimitake Sato each had 11 points and newcomer Russell Carter finished with 10 points, seven assists and seven steals.

For Gunma (0-8), Carlos Dixon scored 15 points with six assists, Marcus Morrison and Daniel Northern Jr. had 12 points apiece and Kenya Tomori scored 10. Former NBA center Melvin Ely had seven points, five rebounds and two blocks in 21:20 of court time.

Evessa 82, Five Arrows 73

In Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, Joshua Dollard scored a team-high 19 points and Osaka swept Takamatsu.

Seth Tarver poured in 16 points, including four 3s, and chalked up five assists for the Evessa (6-4). Shunki Hatakeyama added 14 points and Shota Konno finished with 10.

Dexter Lyons had 17 points and six assists for the Five Arrows (3-7), while Tsubasa Yonezawa scored a season-high 14 points along with four steals. Teammates Justin Watts, a University of North Carolina product, and Andrais Thornton had 13 and 11 points, respectively, the latter also hauled in 11 rebounds.

Golden Kings 83, Rizing 69

In Okinawa City, sharpshooter Ryuichi Kishimoto buried four shots from beyond the arc in a 17-point afternoon and DePaul University alum Draelon Burns came off the bench and scored 16 points as reigning champion Ryukyu beat Fukuoka.

Kibwe Trim and Narito Namizato both had 11 points, Anthony McHenry chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists and Hiromasa Omiya scored eight points for the Golden Kings (8-2).

The Rizing (2-8) extended their losing streak to four games.

Kirk Van Slyke paced Fukuoka with 17 points, Yoshimasa Ohara scored 11 and Cooper Land and Greg Logins had 10 apiece.

Grouses 95, Wat's 88

In Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Toyama coach Bob Nash's club built a 50-37 lead by halftime and took care of business in the second half.

For Toyama (9-1), Jamelle Horne led the way with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Tatsunori Fujie had season-high totals in points (16) and assists (11). Masashi Joho added 19 points, including 5-for-9 from long range, Keyon Carter scored 13 and Joe Werner had 12. Big man Sam Willard made his mark with nine points, seven boards, five steals, four assists and two blocks.

Damian Saunders scored 23 points with four steals for Aomori (6-4) and Gyno Pomare added 19 points and nine rebounds. Satoshi Ishitani had 11 points.

Lakestars 71, HeatDevils 60

In Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, Ray Nixon's double-double and spirited defense carried the hosts to a bounce-back win over Oita.

Nixon paced Shiga (6-2) with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Yutaka Yokoe contributed 12 points and six assists, while Chris Holm had 10 points and nine boards. Terrance Woodbury scored nine points and Yu Okada finished with eight points and three steals.

Todd O'Brien had 19 points and nine rebounds for the HeatDevils (3-7) and Drew Barham scored 10 points.

Hannaryz 61, Susanoo Magic 60

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Kevin Kotzur led Western Conference-leading Kyoto with a 15-point effort and Ryan Forehan-Kelly scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a narrow victory over Shimane.

The Hannaryz (9-1) didn't help their cause at the free-throw line, shooting 14-for-26.

Fiery frontcourt leader Reggie Warren had his fifth double-double of the season (12 points and 12 rebounds) for Kyoto.

In a post-game interview, Warren told The Japan Times that coach Honoo Hamaguchi and his staff set the tone for the team's success this season with a challenging preseason.

While looking at their nine wins to date, Warren cited "hard work and preparation for each team."

"I think the start has a lot to do with our training camp, which was by far the toughest one I have been a part of in Japan," admitted Warren, who played his first bj-league game for Takamatsu in 2006.

"I think we got a good group of veterans that are hungry to win and willing to sacrifice personal goals for team goals. And I think that we really understand that we can always give effort on defense no matter how offense is going. If you continue to work hard on defense, you can give yourself a chance to win."

For Shimane (0-10), Joe Chapman topped the scoring chart with 18 points and Tatsuhiro Yokoo added 15 points, while James Padgett scored seven.

89ers 82, Firebonds 55

In Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Wendell White's 25-point, 20-rebound, three-assist, two-block performance ignited Sendai in a runaway win over the hosts.

Kejuan Johnson scored 17 points and DeAngelo Hamilton had 12 points and four blocks for the 89ers (7-3). Adrian Moss added 11 points and 12 rebounds and Takehiko Shimura dished out five assists for the victors.

Terrance Shannon finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Fukushima (1-9), which has lost eight straight games. Atsushi Nogami poured in 11 points and Edward Morris had 10 points and 12 boards for the expansion squad. Masaya Karimata and Verdell Jones III both had six assists.

Big Bulls 100, Cinq Reves 68

In Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, Scootie Randall, the league's leading scorer, had a game-high 25 points and Wayne Arnold rang up 20 as the

Big Bulls hammered Tokyo for the second straight day.

Iwate won the opener 109-53.

Masato Tsukino added 15 points, Lawrence Blackledge had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Abdullahi Kuso supplied 11 points and 12 boards and Hayato Kantake scored eight points for Iwate (9-1).

The Big Bulls raked in 29 offensive rebounds, including Blackledge's nine, and had a 57-37 advantage overall.

Yuji Ide scored 17 points for the Cinq Reves (3-7). Chris Brown, Michael Hart and Will Foster all had 10 points in the loss.