After a 20-day break and a minor overhaul of their roster, the Saitama Broncos returned to the court on Saturday.

Facing the visiting Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, coach Kazuaki Shimoji's Broncos led after the first and second quarters, but they were outplayed in the second half and lost 91-81 in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.

Saitama (0-11) is the 22-team bj-league's only winless squad. The team failed to make the playoffs or finished above .500 in each of the bj-league's previous nine seasons.

The Broncos repeatedly send Mo Charlo to the free-throw line and the move backfired. The University of Nevada alum sank 15 of 16 foul shots. He had a game-high 26 points with eight rebounds, five assists, two steal and a block. Olu Ashaolu added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Phoenix (10-3). Shinnosuke Oishi had a season-high 18 points, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and Nile Murry contributed 12 points and three steals.

Gary Johnson led the Broncos with 23 points, newcomer Ari Stewart had 16 and Junya Masumoto 15.

Big Bulls 100, B-Corsairs 55

In Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture, Scootie Randall converted 11 of 14 shots from the field in a 28-point performance that guided the Big Bulls to their 13th straight victory.

Iwate (14-1) had four more double-digit scorers: Wayne Arnold (19 points, five assists), Jun Nakanishi and Abdullahi Kuso (13 apiece) and Lawrence Blackledge (12).

The Big Bulls, who sank 22 of 24 free throws, led 50-24 at halftime. They outscored the B-Corsairs 32-12 in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.

For Yokohama (4-11), which suited up just two foreign players, Warren Niles had a team-high 11 points. Dzaflo Larkai added eight points and 10 rebounds. Seiji Kono and Yosuke Maeda also had eight-point efforts.

Golden Kings 79, Northern Happinets 66

In Akita, Narito Namizato led the Ryukyu attack with a team-high 19 points and Anthony McHenry contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the reigning champion Golden Kings rolled past the Northern Happinets in a rematch of last season's title game.

Draelon Burns scored 14 points off the bench for the Golden Kings (11-2), Kibwe Trim notched a double-double (11 points, 12 boards), while Naoto Kosuge buried three 3s en route to nine points.

Richard Roby paced Akita (12-3) with 19 points along with six steals and three blocks. Shigehiro Taguchi added 14 points and six assists and Yuto Otsuka had 10 points. Ruben Boykin and Deshawn Stephens finished with nine and eight points, respectively.

The Happinets struggled at the free-throw line, making 7 of 17 shots.

Hannaryz 81, Albirex BB 71

In Kyoto, Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Reggie Warren both scored 18 points to lead the Hannaryz past struggling Niigata.

After a five-game win streak, the Albirex (8-7) have dropped their last five games.

Warren and Shun Watanuki dished out five assists apiece for Kyoto (13-2), Kevin Kotzur poured in 12 points and Takuya Komoda had 10.

The Hannaryz shot 61.1 percent from inside the arc.

Patrick Sullivan led Niigata with 22 points, Thomas Kennedy added 16, Takamichi Fujiwara and Kimitake Sato had nine apiece and Stephan Van Treese added eight with 12 rebounds.

Grouses 78, Susanoo Magic 68

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Jamelle Horne and Joe Werner had 17 points apiece and Toyama snapped a three-game losing streak.

Horne, a University of Arizona product, was 8-for-11 from the field, including three dunks, and swatted three shots at the other end of the court.

Masashi Joho finished with 11 points and three assists for the Grouses (11-4), He also had four steals, two shy of Werner's team-high total. Sam Willard chipped in with 10 points and seven boards and Tatsunori Fujie had eight points.

The feisty Grouses force Shimane (1-14) into turning the ball over 24 times. Magic guards Edward Yamamoto and Tatsuhiro Yokoo each had six turnovers.

Yamamoto led the hosts with 17 points and eight assists and East Tennessee State alum Isiah Brown added 14 points, while Bingo Morriex had 11 points and nine rebounds. Yokoo also scored 11.

Shimane is 0-3 since Tomohiro Moriyama was promoted to head coach. Bench boss Reggie Hanson was fired on Nov. 9, the day of the team's lone victory of the season.

Wat's 83, Rizing 78

In Aomori, Paul Williams' 27-point, 12-rebound performance and Yuki Kitamuki's 16 points carried the hosts to a well-rounded win over Fukuoka.

Gyno Pomare contributed 12 points and nine boards with two blocks and two steals for Aomori (9-6), Kyle Richardson finished with nine points and 12 rebounds and Damian Saunders added eight points, seven boards and three blocks.

The Wat's hauled in 56 rebounds (22 offensive) and held the Rizing to 31.

"Every win is important to us," Williams told The Japan Times. "So tonight's win was great but we need to understand we have to come out strong tomorrow because we know Fukuoka will.

"I think our mind-set is in the right place. We're all still in the process of getting better and learning what coach (Koju Munakata) wants for us. It's long season and we're going in the right direction."

Josh Peppers was Fukuoka's top scorer with 20 points. Greg Logins had 17 points and eight-time All-Star Cohey Aoki scored 15 for the Rizing (3-12). Kirk Van Slyke finished with 13 points.

Evessa 83, Firebonds 70

In Osaka, the Evessa trailed 40-27 at halftime before taking control in the third quarter.

Osaka (10-5) erupted for 33 third-quarter points and limited Fukushima to 11. That secured the win for coach Shunsuke Todo's club.

Josh Dollard was the Evessa's high scorer with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting and Shota Konno had 16. Seth Tarver and Naoto Nakamura added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Gary Hamilton raked in 12 rebounds and handed out four assists and Shunki Hatakeyama contributed seven points, six steals and five assists.

For the Firebonds (4-11), Verdell Jones III supplied 22 points and eight assists. Masaya Karimata had 17 points and Terrance Shannon contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds.

89ers 85, HeatDevils 82

In Sendai, Kejuan Johnson reached the 30-point plateau for the third straight game and the 89ers extended their winning streak to three games by holding off Oita.

Johnson finished with exactly 30 points. He added eight rebounds and five assists while playing all but 13 seconds of the 40-minute contest.

In 40 minutes, big man Adrian Moss finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds for Sendai (10-5 overall, 7-2 at home), which played without frontcourt star Wendell White. Guard Fumiya Sato matched Moss' scoring total, and backcourt mate Takehiko Shimura had 14 points and five assists.

Veteran guard Naoto Takushi, who made his season debut on Nov. 8, led Oita (5-8) with 20 points and seven assists. Todd O'Brien had 17 points and 16 boards, while Kellen Thornton and Demetri McCamey had 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Cinq Reves 92, Crane Thunders 75

In Musashino, Jemal Farmer's 31-point effort and Will Foster's eight blocked shots sparked Tokyo to a runaway win over Gunma.

Farmer also provided six assists and five steals for the Cinq Reves (4-11). Kenji Kanai finished with 14 points and Kento Sakka had 12.

Carlos Dixon and Melvin Ely each had 16 points for the Crane Thunders (1-12). Marcus Morrison poured in 15 points and Daniel Northern Jr. had 13 points and 16 boards.

Brave Warriors 97, Bambitious 82

In Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, Shinshu lit up the scoreboard for 32 fourth-quarter points in a convincing victory over the hosts.

Mohamed Abukar paced the Brave Warriors (5-6) with 23 points, followed by Patrick Sanders' 19, Carl Hall's 15, Shoji Nakanishi's 13 and Masamune Tate's 10.

Chehales Tapscott led Nara (2-9) with 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Andre Murray scored 16 points, Jumpei Honda had 14 and Michael St. John added 11 with 14 rebounds. Tatsuya Suzuki contributed 10 points and six assists.

Lakestars 82, Five Arrows 74

In Takamatsu, Shiga triumphed in the series opener and ended the Five Arrows' four-game win streak.

Shiga improved to 9-2; Takamatsu slipped to 7-8.

Game stats were unavailable at press time.