Aomori Wat's frontcourt standouts Gyno Pomare and Paul Williams made their presence felt against the Yokohama B-Corsairs on Sunday in the teams' final game before the bj-league's 2015-16 All-Star Game, which will be held on Feb. 1 in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture.
Pomare converted 10 of 12 shots and had team-high totals in points (24) and rebounds (14) along with four steals and two blocks, and Williams dropped 14 points on Yokohama in Aomori's 72-71 victory in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Yuta Kojima and Damian Saunders added 10 points apiece for the Wat's (16-14).
Aomori took a 36-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Dzaflo Larkai had a banner day for Yokohama, producing a 26-point, 13-rebound stat line. Larkai made 10 of 13 shots on the afternoon.
Warren Niles scored 14 points, Kenji Yamada had 11 points and six assists and Masayuki Kabaya dished out five assists for the B-Corsairs (7-23 overall, 4-12 at home).
The B-Corsairs' two-game win streak ended.
Both teams shot 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Five Arrows 76, Rizing 75
In Takamatsu, Dexter Lyons had a game-high 26 points and Justin Watts scored 18 as the Five Arrows completed a series sweep over Fukuoka.
Andrais Thornton added 13 points for Takamatsu (9-21) and B.J. Puckett had seven. Koki Yabuuchi and Masaaki Suzuki each dished out five assists.
Fukuoka trailed 40-33 at halftime.
Josh Peppers paced the Rizing with 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Cyrus Tate finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Keisuke Takabatake had 13 points. Hajime Ono scored eight points.
Fukuoka (7-23) has lost its past three games since winning coach Joe Bryant's first game at the helm on Jan. 17.
Broncos 97, Grouses 90
In Toyama, Koji Nagata scored 18 points and Junya Masumoto had 17 as Saitama salvaged a series split against the hosts.
Ari Stewart supplied 16 points and Gary Johnson poured in 15 for the Broncos (2-28), who got 12 points from Brian Ormon and 11 from Nyika Williams.
Takeshi Mito paced Toyama (22-8) with 21 points. Tatsunori Fujie and Masashi Joho both had 19 points, the latter was 1-for-10 from beyond the 3-point arc. Joe Werner scored 13 points, Sam Willard added nine points and 11 rebounds and Keyon Carter chipped in with nine points.
The Grouses saw their eight-game winning streak halted.
Phoenix 87, HeatDevils 64
In Hamamatsu, veteran forward Jermaine Green's season-high 24 points sparked the Phoenix in a bounce-back win over Oita.
Green made 9 of 13 shots from the floor and hauled in seven rebounds. Teammate Olu Ashaolu contributed 19 points and 14 rebounds and Nile Murry scored 15 points. Atsuya Ota had 11 points and Masahiro Oguchi eight for Hamamatsu (25-5).
Demetri McCamey led the HeatDevils (10-20) with 27 points and Todd O'Brien had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Taishiro Shimizu doled out five assists.
Big Bulls 95, Crane Thunders 85
In Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture, shooting guard Shota Onodera's career-high 27 point outburst, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range, ignited the Big Bulls in their second victory in as many days over Gunma.
Scootie Randall had 18 points and six assists for Iwate (25-5), Abdullahi Kuso scored 14 points, Wayne Arnold had 10 and Lawrence Blackledge finished with 10 points, 11 boards and four steals. Tsubasa Yonamine contributed nine points and five assists in the win.
Marcus Morrison was Gunma's top scorer, putting 18 points on the board. Carlos Dixon scored 13 points and Melvin Ely and Yusuke Kodera each had 12.
Northern Happinets 80, Firebonds 78
In Akita, newcomer Travon Bryant provided 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots and Richard Roby was one assist shy of a triple-double for the hosts.
Roby finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Shigehiro Taguchi had a 13-point afternoon. Deshawn Stephens poured in 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds and Ruben Boykin chipped in with nine points and two blocks for Akita (27-5), which sits atop the 12-team Eastern Conference standings.
For Fukushima (9-21), Verdell Jones III had a team-high 22 points, Masaya Karimata sank four 3s in a 17-point performance and Terrance Shannon scored 13 points. Takumi Masuko added 10 points and Shinya Murakami had nine points and five steals.
Golden Kings 87, Lakestars 66
In Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, reigning champion Ryukyu held the Lakestars to 22 first-half points and took a 22-point cushion into the third quarter.
Draelon Burns guided the Golden Kings (26-4) with 15 points, four assists and three steals, Narito Namizato scored 14 points, Anthony McHenry had 13 and Anthony Kent added 12 points with seven rebounds. Ryuichi Kishimoto finished with 10 points as the Kings rolled to their eighth straight victory.
Jeff Parmer led Shiga (18-10) with 15 points, Ray Nixon scored 11 and Terrance Woodbury 10.
In the two-game series, the Golden Kings kept steady defensive pressure on the perimeter, limiting Shiga to 12-for-52 shooting from 3-point range, including 9-for-29 in the series finale.
Hannaryz 81, Evessa 59
In Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, sharpshooter David Palmer canned four 3s in an 18-point outing and Ryan Forehan-Kelly added 17 points and seven rebounds as Kyoto overwhelmed the Evessa.
Kevin Kotzur finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Hannaryz (25-5), who are off to their best start in franchise history. Hikaru Kusaka scored nine points, Reggie Warren contributed eight points and eight rebounds and Shun Watanuki had seven points and four steals.
Josh Dollard paced Osaka (17-13) with 25 points and nine rebounds and Takuya Soma scored 13. Shota Konno added seven points.
The Evessa missed 17 of 20 3s.
Susanoo Magic 74, Bambitious 73
In Nara, balanced scoring carried Shimane to a victory in the second game decided by one point in the weekend series.
The Bambitious earned an 85-84 triumph on Saturday.
Joe Chapman was the high scorer for the Magic (10-20) with 18 points, Tatsuhiro Yokoo and Isiah Brown scored 17 and 16, respectively, and Wesley Witherspoon supplied 10 points and three blocks for Shimane. Bingo Morriex added nine points and three blocks, while Edward Yamamoto dished out five assists.
Chehales Tapscott led Nara (10-20) with 28 points and 16 rebounds and Tatsuya Suzuki finished with 12 points and seven assists. Taishi Kasahara added 11 points and Ryo Yamazaki scored nine.
Albirex BB 71, 89ers 68
In Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, the Albirex improved to 13-5 at home and won for the eighth time in their past 10 games before the All-Star break.
After dropping the series opener 83-80, Niigata (19-11) rebounded with a strong all-around effort. Thomas Kennedy exemplified the team's gritty performance, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Stephan Van Treese added 14 points and 10 boards, Patrick Sullivan had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Kimitake Sato and Russell Carter each scored nine points.
Sendai's Fumiya Sato made five 3-pointers in a 17-point outing. Jeral Davis, Wendell White and Kejuan Johnson all scored 11 points apiece for the 89ers (19-11). Johnson dished out eight assists.
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