What has defined the Iwate Big Bulls' performance this season?

Wins. Lots of wins.

And what's defined those wins?

"I think we are the best 'hustle' team," Iwate coach Dai Oketani told The Japan Times after the Big Bulls defeated the visiting Yokohama B-Corsairs 92-78 on Sunday to extend their epic winning streak to 14 games.

"Our defense is really aggressive and disruptive," added Oketani, who captured a pair of bj-league championships while coaching the Ryukyu Golden Kings.

During the Big Bulls' streak, Oketani observed that "we make opponents play (our way). They couldn't run their plays right. I think that's the way we win the ball games so far."

Iwate has also received sensational production from forward Scootie Randall, the league's leading scorer (23.8 points per game). The Temple University product had a game-high 28 points, including 10-for-13 at the free-throw line, in the series finale.

Wayne Arnold added 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for Iwate (15-1). Lawrence Blackledge scored 12 points, Abdullahi Kuso added eight and Masato Tsukino seven. Tsubasa Yonamine chalked up five assists and made three steals.

Warren Niles led the undermanned B-Corsairs (4-12) with 24 points and Dzaflo Larkai scored 16. Masayuki Kabaya finished with 11 points and five assists.

After the game, Randall told The Japan Times that the team doesn't dwell on winning streaks.

"Going into every practice as well as games, we as a team don't think about the win streak at all to be honest with you," Randall said. "We just focus on the task at hand and deal with each and every game one at a time.

"Two more wins are great for our ball club but we taking it one day at a time."

Hannaryz 74, Albirex BB 58

In Kyoto, Kevin Kotzur had a team-high 15 points, David Palmer scored 11 and Reggie Warren made an impact with nine points, seven rebounds and six steals as the Hannaryz wrapped up a series sweep.

Takuya Komoda and Shun Watanuki each had nine points for Kyoto (14-2), which appeared in the past three Final Fours under veteran coach Honoo Hamaguchi.

Kimitake Sato paced Niigata (8-8) with 17 points and Patrick Sullivan poured in 10. Thomas Kennedy, the team's leading scorer (17.3 points per game) was held to six points on 3-for-9 shooting.

The Albirex, who have lost six straight games, had 23 turnovers.

"Honoo is trying to get us to maximize our potential, meaning even if we are up 20-plus points he still want us to focus on getting better and don't play down to our competition," Warren told this newspaper after the game, revealing his coach's focus. "He is constantly stressing to us we have to get better and be better and don't just go through the motions in practice, keep competing with each other every day."

HeatDevils 91, 89ers 86 (OT)

In Sendai, Kellen Thornton's 29-point, 13-rebound performance and Todd O'Brien's 20 points and 16 boards ignited Oita in a bounce-back win over the 89ers.

Taishiro Shimizu contributed nine points for the HeatDevils (6-8), who assisted on 22 of 34 field goals. Naoto Takushi and Demetri McCamey dished out six assists apiece.

Kejuan Johnson paced Sendai (10-6) with 28 points, including six 3-pointers. Takehiko Shimura knocked down four 3s in a 16-point afternoon and Adrian Moss had 14 points and 18 rebounds.

Phoenix 88, Broncos 59

In Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, the winless hosts were outscored 53-25 in the first and fourth quarters as Hamamatsu Higashimikawa rolled to another victory.

Olu Ashaolu led the Phoenix (11-3 overall, 5-1 road) with 19 points plus nine rebounds. Masahiro Oguchi and Jermaine Green both scored 12 points. Six players reached double figures in points for coach Tomoya Higashino's club.

Junya Masumoto scored 16 points for Saitama (0-12) and Ari Stewart finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

The Broncos shot 30.8 percent from inside the 3-point arc.

Crane Thunders 87, Cinq Reves 65

In Musashino, Gunma took care of the basketball (five turnovers) and pestered the hosts into making miscues (20 givewaways), and coach Charlie Parker's squad salvaged a series split.

Yusuke Kodera had the hot hand for the Crane Thunders (2-12), canning 5 of 6 3s in an 18-point outing. Teammate Carlos Dixon supplied 17 points and eight assists and Daniel Northern Jr. had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Yosuke Sugawara handed out five assists. Former NBA center Melvin Ely sat out the game with an undisclosed injury.

Big man Will Foster had 15 points, 19 rebounds, eight blocks and nine turnovers for Tokyo (4-12), Jemal Farmer scored 14 points and Yuji Ide had 13.

Evessa 76, Firebonds 49

In Osaka, the Evessa held Fukushima to 17 second-half points en route to their second victory in as many days.

Osaka's Josh Dollard had a team-high 18 points with eight boards and Shota Konno was 4-for-4 from long range and scored 17 points. Seth Tarver and Shunki Hatakeyama rang up 15 points apiece and Gary Hamilton chipped in with eight points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Evessa (11-5).

Verdell Jones III and Edward Morris both scored 10 points for the expansion Firebonds (4-12), who missed 18 of 19 3s. Terrance Shannon added seven points and 12 rebounds.

Grouses 71, Susanoo Magic 62

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Toyama secured the win at the free-throw line, sinking 20 of 25 shots.

Tatsunori Fujie led the Grouses (12-4) with 17 points, Jamelle Horne scored 15 and Joe Werner had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Keyon Carter poured in 10 points and Sam Willard had nine points and nine rebounds. Masashi Joho, the 2013-14 regular-season MVP, did not play.

Bingo Morriex finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Susanoo Magic (1-15) and Isiah Brown scored 13 points. Shuichi Takada and Edward Yamamoto had eight points apiece.

Lakestars 90, Five Arrows 77

In Takamatsu, Jeff Parmer scored 31 points on 11-for-14 shooting and doled out five assists as Shiga triumphed over the Five Arrows.

Yu Okada had 16 points and Terrance Woodbury contributed 14 points and six assists for the Lakestars (10-2), who extended their winning streak to five games.

Ray Nixon scored 11 points for Shiga and Chris Holm pulled down a game-high nine boards.

The Lakestars outrebounded the Five Arrows 46-34.

B.J. Puckett had 22 points for Takamatsu (7-9) and Andrais Thornton added 17 points and eight rebounds. Hiroyuki Kikuchi and Dexter Lyons both scored 12 points.

Rizing 77, Wat's 59

In Aomori, Josh Peppers' double-double sparked Fukuoka in a win over Aomori.

Peppers finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Rizing (4-12) and Kirk Van Slyke scored 16 points. Cohey Aoki had a 13-point game and Greg Logins chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

For the Wat's (9-7), Paul Williams had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Gyno Pomare scored 12 points. Yuki Yamaguchi added eight points.

Aomori converted just 3 of 23 3-point attempts.

Golden Kings 79, Northern Happinets 75

In Akita, Draleon Burns thrived as a game-changing reserve once again, coming off the bench to score 27 points and grab 11 rebounds as reigning champion Ryukyu edged Akita.

The Golden Kings (12-2), who have won six consecutive contests, held Northern Happinets star Richard Roby to a season-low seven points and 1-for-10 shooting from the field. He's averaging 18.6 ppg.

Anthony Kent scored 16 points and Anthony McHenry had 12 points and three blocks for Ryukyu, with Ryuichi Kishimoto and Narito Namizato both supplying six points.

Ruben Bokyin had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Akita (12-4) and Shigehiro Taguchi and Deshawn Stephens scored 17 apiece.

Bambitious 98, Brave Warriors 97

In Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, balanced scoring carried the Bambitious past Shinshu.

Michael St. John paced the hosts with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Andre Murray and Taishi Kasahara both scored 16 points and playmaker Tatsuya Suzuki ended up with 14 points and nine assists for Nara (3-9).

Newcomer DeVaughn Washington scored a team-best 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting for the Brave Warriors (5-7), who got 22 points from Patrick Sanders. Mohamed Abukar and Shoji Nakanishi added 15 and 14 points, respectively.