The Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix have created a logjam at the top of the Western Conference on Saturday.

By beating the visiting Kyoto Hannaryz 76-65, the Phoenix are now one of four West teams with two losses. But Kyoto (11-2) sits atop the conference due to its top winning percentage — and boosted by the fact it has played more games than Hamamatsu (9-2), Ryukyu (10-2) and Shiga (7-2).

Reigning champion Ryukyu is back in action in a rare Monday-Tuesday bj-league series against the visiting Gunma Crane Thunders.

The Phoenix held the Hannaryz to 11 fourth-quarter points in a game that was tied 33-33 entering the second half.

Mo Charlo paced Hamamatsu with 20 points in the series opener in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. Nile Murry added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Olu Ashaolu scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jermaine Green added eight points and Shinnosuke Oishi and Atsuya Ota both scored seven.

Reggie Warren finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for Kyoto. Hikaru Kusaka had 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting and Ryan Forehan-Kelly supplied 10.

Lakestars 67, Albirex BB 60

In Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, Terrance Woodbury's 19-point outing and Chris Holm's 14 points and 10 rebounds helped the Lakestars open the weekend with a victory over Niigata.

Shiga's Jeff Parmer added eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds and Yutaka Yokoe dished out five assists.

For the Albirex (8-5), Thomas Kennedy put 19 points on the board. Patrick Sullivan finished with 14 points and 15 boards and Kimitake Sato had eight points.

Niigata shot 4-for-24 from beyond the arc.

Evessa 74, Wat's 69

In Fujisaki, Aomori Prefecture, Shota Konno scored a team-high 18 points, including 6-for-6 from 2-point range, and Josh Dollard added 17 points and five assists as Osaka earned its eighth consecutive victory.

Swingman Seth Tarver chipped in with 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Evessa, while Jon Kreft had 10 points. Gary Hamilton grabbed 11 rebounds and made four steals.

Osaka outscored Aomori 21-7 in the second quarter to take an 18-point advantage into intermission.

Gyno Pomare was the hosts' high scorer with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting. He also hauled in 11 rebounds. Damian Saunders scored 14 points, canning four 3s, while Paul Williams had 13 points and nine rebounds. Kenichi Takahashi scored nine points and Satoshi Ishitani had eight for Aomori (7-6).

89ers 97, Grouses 65

In Sendai, Kejuan Johnson was a thorn in the side of Toyama for 40 electrifying minutes, scoring a game-high 34 points and contributing 10 rebounds and six assists for the 89ers.

Wendell White had 21 points and nine rebounds for Sendai (8-5) and Adrian Moss scored 15 points and grabbed 19 rebounds (six offensive). Guard Fumiya Sato had nine points in the rout and backcourt mate Takehiko Shimura added seven points, five assists and five steals.

The Grouses were held to 28 second-half points.

Sam Willard paced Toyama (10-3) with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Masashi Joho and Joe Werner each scored 11.

Five Arrows 71, Brave Warriors 70

In Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture, B.J. Puckett had 21 points and Takamatsu topped Shinshu by the slimmest of margins.

Justin Watts contributed 12 points, Dexter Lyons scored nine and Hiroyuki Kikuchi and Andrais Thornton had seven apiece for the Five Arrows (6-7), who had 20 turnovers.

Patrick Sanders was the high scorer for the Brave Warriors (4-5), finishing with 18 points. Mohamed Abukar scored 16 and Carl Hall had 15, with Shoji Nakanishi and Masamune Tate each netting seven.

Takamatsu made 19 of 26 free throws; Shinshu converted 8 of 14.

Firebonds 74, Cinq Reves 59

In Inagi, Verdell Jones III energized Fukushima at both ends of the floor in a win over Tokyo.

The former Indiana University guard had 24 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds as the expansion Firebonds (3-10) controlled the game.

Terrance Shannon added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three steals and Masaya Karimata scored 10 points with four assists for the visitors. Edward Morris and James Hughes both had eight points for coach Hiroki Fujita's squad.

The Cinq Reves (3-10) missed 17 of 21 3-point attempts.

Jemal Farmer and Yuji Ide each scored 19 points for Tokyo. Will Foster had 11 points and 24 rebounds (nine offensive).

B-Corsairs 83, Rizing 77

In Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Warren Niles' 31-point effort guided Yokohama to a series-opening triumph over Fukuoka.

Dzaflo Larkai added 18 points and seven rebounds for the B-Corsairs (4-9), who had five players with three or more assists, including Masayuki Kabaya and Yosuke Saito with five apiece. Ryuichi Horikawa poured in 11 points, draining a trio of 3s.

Josh Peppers scored 29 points for the Rizing (2-11) and Cohey Aoki had 10. Cooper Land finished with nine points, 11 boards and eight assists.

Big Bulls 99, Susanoo Magic 76

In Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Iwate hammered the hosts in Tomohiro Moriyama's debut as Magic head coach.

Shimane (1-12) trailed 50-32 at halftime.

Scootie Randall and Lawrence Blackledge scored 24 and 20 points, respectively, for the Eastern Conference-leading Big Bulls (12-1). Wayne Arnold added 16 points and Hayato Kantake buried three 3s in a 15-point performance. Jun Nakanishi, who shot 4-for-4 from the field, had a season-high 11 points in the rout.

Joe Chapman scored 25 points for Shimane and Edward Yamamoto had 17. Bingo Morriex finished with eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Northern Happinets 108, Bambitious 92

In Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, Richard Roby's 30-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist performance sparked the hosts to a win over Nara.

Roby had season-high totals in points and assists. He made 14 of 22 shots from the field.

Akita (11-2) trailed by five points after the opening quarter, then scored 37 in the second period to take a 51-41 lead into halftime.

Ruben Boykin added 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Happinets and San Diego State product Deshawn Stephens had 13, while Shigehiro Taguchi and Yuto Otsuka both scored 12, the latter knocking down 4 of 9 3s.

Akitomo Takeno and Ryosuke Mizumachi both scored seven points in the win. Takeno dished out five assists.

For Nara (2-7), Chehales Tapscott had a 22-point effort and Andre Murray added 21 points. Guard Tatsuya Suzuki contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists and big man Michael St. John finished with nine points and 10 boards.

Roster moves: The Saitama Broncos announced Saturday that veteran center Nyika Williams has filled a roster vacancy after Serbian big man Markco Cukic was released the previous day.

The 203-cm Williams, 27, previously played for Takamatsu, Gunma and Saitama.

Cukic, 24, averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 10 games for the Broncos (0-10).