For the Iwate Big Bulls, eight was a key number on Saturday.

They had eight blocked shots, and they held the reigning champion Ryukyu Golden Kings to eight second-quarter points.

But for coach Dai Oketani's club, the biggest numbers were the final score: Iwate 69, Ryukyu 66. The championship final-type atmosphere in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, also produced this: the Big Bulls' 19th straight victory, extending their bj-league record.

The Golden Kings, meanwhile, saw their 10-game winning streak halted.

Wayne Arnold paced Iwate (20-1) with 18 points, including three big 3-pointers. Scootie Randall added 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals and Masato Tsukino and Lawrence Blackledge had 10 points apiece.

Blackledge, a Marquette University product, led Iwate's protect-the-basket mandate with four blocks. Frontcourt mate Abdullahi Kuso swatted three shots and Arnold rejected one.

"The game itself was great: two great and well-balanced teams competing at a high level," Randall told The Japan Times. "I mean there's nothing else to be described."

Was there a special feeling to beat the defending champs? Randall was asked.

"There's no feeling, we are all professionals and as professionals we can't worry about what happened last season. We have to go out and fight night in and out. Tomorrow's game will be a battle..."

The Golden Kings (16-3) trailed 32-30 at halftime against their former two-time, title-winning bench boss.

Iwate took a 49-48 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Ryuichi Kishimoto led Ryukyu with 19 points and Draelon Burns had 13. Anthony McHenry finished with 12 points and Hiromasa Omiya added 11.

Both teams made 23 field goals in the low-scoring game.

Iwate was 23-for-69; Ryukyu made 23 of 65.

"Today's game was great," Arnold told The Japan Times. "The quality of play was at a very high level, especially defensively. Both teams are known for being able to play great team defense down the stretch. We knew this was going to be a big test for us coming into the weekend. We're happy about the win, but of course we aren't satisfied with one win on the weekend.

"Tomorrow WILL be more intense and more of a playoff type of game. They don't want to lose back to back, being the defending champ. And we want to win even more tomorrow. There's another great game in store for tomorrow."

Wat's 73, Cinq Reves 65

In Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, dependable forward Gyno Pomare had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Damian Saunders scored 12 points and made four steals as the hosts held off Tokyo in the series opener. Point guard Yuki Yamaguchi contributed nine points, all on 3-pointers, for Aomori (12-9), a second-year franchise.

Tokyo (4-17) was held to 23 first-half points.

Jemal Farmer paced the Cinq Reves with 25 points and Yuji Ide had 17. Will Foster grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds.

Crane Thunders 89, Susanoo Magic 78

In Midori, Gunma Prefecture, Carlos Dixon's 28 points, fueled by an 11-for-13 effort at the free-throw line, and seven steals guided the Crane Thunders past Shimane for their season-high third straight win.

Marcus Morrison added 16 points and six assists for Gunma (5-14) and Yosuke Sugawara poured in 10. Kenya Tomori, Masanobu Ito and Melvin Ely all had eight-point nights. Ely also hauled in eight rebounds.

Shimane (3-18) made just 14 of 26 free throws.

For the Magic, Edward Yamamoto finished with 19 points and seven assists, and Isiah Brown scored 19 points with 13 rebounds and also had seven turnovers. Bingo Morriex added 16 points and 14 boards and Joe Chapman scored 13 points.

Albirex BB 74, Firebonds 70

In Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Thomas Kennedy sank five 3-pointers en route to a 22-point performance to spark Niigata to a road victory.

Yuichi Ikeda was the Albirex's second-leading scorer with 20 points. Patrick Sullivan chipped in with seven points and nine rebounds for Niigata (12-9).

Terrance Shannon provided 17 points and 10 rebounds for Fukushima (6-15) and Verdell Jones III had 15 points and seven assists. Edward Morris added 11 points and 16 assists, while Masaya Karimata had 11 points for the expansion team.

Phoenix 108, B-Corsairs 69

In Hamamatsu, Mo Charlo flirted with a triple-double and made a profound impact for the Phoenix in a runaway victory, finishing with 24 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.

Hamamatsu had six double-digit scorers. The others: Olu Ashaolu (15 points), Nile Murry (12), Shinnosuke Oishi (11) and Jermaine Green and Shingo Okada (both with 10).

The Phoenix (16-3) shot 59.6 percent from inside the arc.

Newcomer Khyle Marshall had 18 points for Yokohama (4-17), Warren Niles scored 14, Kenji Yamada had 12 and Masayuki Kabaya 10.

Hannaryz 79, Grouses 71

In Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, David Palmer's season-high 29 points propelled the Hannaryz past Toyama, extending their winning streak to eight.

Ryan Forehan-Kelly poured in 23 points for Kyoto (19-2) and Kevin Kotzur had 10. Takuya Komoda and Hikaru Kusaka added eight and five points, respectively, with both teammates making three steals.

Toyama's Jamelle Horne scored 18 points and Sam Willard contributed 15 points, 17 rebounds and five steals. Takeshi Mito added 14 points for the Grouses (14-7).

Evessa 89, Brave Warriors 55

In Osaka, veteran sharpshooter Naoto Nakamura canned 4 of 7 3s in a vintage 19-point performance and the Evessa blasted Shinshu.

Osaka led 65-37 after three quarters.

Seth Tarver added 15 points and Jon Kreft had a double-double (14 points, 10 boards) for the Evessa (14-7). Shota Konno scored 13 points and Josh Dollard delivered 10 points and six assists for the winners. Shunki Hatakeyama had seven points and Gary Hamilton grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists.

Carl Hall paced the Brave Warriors (7-10) with 15 points and Patrick Sanders scored 12. Tatsuhiko Toshino finished with nine ponits.

Shinshu was held to 17-for-68 shooting (25 percent).

Bambitious 80, HeatDevils 78

In Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, Chehales Tapscott's 21 points and 10 rebounds and Tatsuya Suzuki's 18-points, five-assist effort keyed the hosts' narrow victory over struggling Oita.

Andre Murray added 15 points and Taishi Kasahara scored 10 for Nara (6-11). Michael St. John scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Kellen Thornton led the HeatDevils (6-13) with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Demetri McCamey had 19 points and Todd O'Brien added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Oita lost its fifth straight game.

The HeatDevils were 4-for-32 from 3-point range.

Northern Happinets 95, Five Arrows 78

In Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture, Akita sixth man Ruben Boykin led his team in rebounds (14) and asists (five) in a rout over Takamatsu.

Shigehiro Taguchi scored 22 points and Richard Roby put 20 on the board for the Happinets (17-4). Tyran Walker contributed 14 points and 12 boards and Deshawn Stephens had 10 points.

Akita out-rebounded Takamatsu 62-36.

Justin Watts paced the Five Arrows (7-14) with 27 points, Dexter Lyons scored 19 and Masaaki Suzuki 13.

89ers 89, Broncos 87

In Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Sendai escaped with a victory in the series opener and improved to 15-6 on the season.

Saitama fell to 0-17.