The victories keep coming for the Akita Northern Happinets under first-year head coach Makoto Hasegawa, a former star point guard.
Since replacing the now-retired Kazuo Nakamura after the team's bj-league championship runnerup finish in May, the expectations have been for the team to be a title contender once again. And the Happinets are right where they want to be — tied with the Iwate Big Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference (21-4).
In Saturday's 75-66 triumph over the visiting Aomori Wat's, Deshawn Stephens scored a team-high 20 points, including 12 of 13 at the free-throw line, and grabbed nine rebounds.