When a team's point production decreases for four straight quarters, the odds of pulling out a victory become significantly harder.

Exhibit A: The Sunrockers Shibuya produced that story on Sunday — and it didn't involved a happy ending for coach BT Toews' squad.

Instead, the San-en NeoPhoenix made several key plays down the stretch, including Atsuya Ota's go-ahead layup with 20 seconds remaining, to earn a 65-60 victory and a series split at Aoyama Gakuin University Memorial Hall.

The NeoPhoenix improved to 10-6; the Sunrockers fell to 9-7.

With the game tied at 60-60 and 40 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, point guard Tatsuya Suzuki grabbed a defensive rebound for the NeoPhoenix and dribbled the ball upcourt. He eventually got the ball to forward Robert Dozier, who delivered a crisp pass from the baseline to Ota.

Ota scored the go-ahead layup with 20 seconds left, and earned a trip to the foul line to complete a traditional three-point play.

Ota drained the free throw.

Recalling that key sequence, Dozier told The Japan Times that he recalled telling Suzuki to "get me the ball" during a break in the action.

"I was looking to score, but then as I looked to score, Ota just happened to be open so I made the smart play," said Dozier, who finished with nine points, nine boards, four assists and three blocks.

Following a timeout, the Sunrockers inbounded the ball. Ira Brown missed a 3-point attempt and Kenta Hirose's jumper was off the mark.

Seconds later, Shuto Tawatari made a pair of free throws to account for the game's final points.

Shibuya led 20-14 at the end of the first quarter, then saw its scoring output dip to 16, 14 and 10 in the next three periods.

San-en used a 24-point second quarter to pull out in front, and stayed there for all but a brief moment in the fourth. With 4:22 left in the final quarter, Hirose's nothing-but-net 3 from the right wing put his club in front, 60-58, for the first time in the second half.

That capped a 10-0 spurt — Shibuya's best scoring run of the game — at a critical stage of the game.

But it was a short-lived lead. NeoPhoenix forward Olu Ashaolu's layup tied it at 60-60 with 1:42 remaining.

And then Ota and Tawatari remained poised and scored the final aforementioned points.

After dropping the series opener 80-62 on Saturday night, San-en coach Hiroki Fujita's team played with a greater sense of urgency in the rematch. He said a key to victory was his team's consistent, aggressive play. He also pointed to the effective use of both man-to-man and zone defense as a key factor.

Commending San-en's Japanese players for their hustle and effort to help defend against Shibuya forward Ira Brown, Fujita said this also impacted the game. Brown scored 12 points, but shot 5-for-14 from the field. He had seven rebounds and three assists.

R.T. Guinn led the Sunrockers with 14 points, 12 coming from beyond the arc. Teammate Takashi Ito added 10 points and a team-high five assists.

The Shibuya offense never got into a consistent rhythm and didn't stay in sync for long stretches. The result? The Sunrockers shot 34.3 percent from the field, including 16 of 50 from inside the arc.

The NeoPhoenix led 57-50 after three quarters.

Toews focused on the positive aspects of his team's play to begin his post-game talk with reporters.

Looking at the numbers from Saturday's game and Sunday's, Toews noted that "again, I thought we dominated the boards (outrebounding the visitors 40-33, including 15-3 on the offensive glass)."

He added: "Again, two games in a row we kept our turnovers down." The Sunrockers had eight turnovers in the series finale.

While the Sunrockers made 40 percent of their 3-point shots (8 of 20), Toews didn't see those baskets as truly indicative of the team's offensive performance.

". . . I felt like a lot of those shots came at the end of a shot clock and we were desperate," Toews added.

The Sunrockers played their second game with new center Chad Posthumus, who had seven points and 10 rebounds in 22-plus minutes.

There's an adjustment period under way with the new 211-cm big man in the middle.

"The main issue today was the lack of ball movement," Toews said. "We tried to post up and tried to look at mismatches too much, so that the ball stopped and changed sides when players don't cut. And it's really not the kind of basketball that we play; we are the opposite of that."

He went on: "But I think when you suddenly get a big man and you get excited and you think that you have a mismatch on the other side, you might focus too much on that, and we did today."

On many occasions, Posthumus was double-teamed by San-en defenders, and he passed the ball back out to the perimeter. "But we didn't make plays when the ball came out," Toews said, "and that really hurt us today."

After the game, Ito said his team can use Sunday's loss as a learning tool and the video highlights to make adjustments for upcoming games.

Suzuki, whose seven assists (along with eight points) in the series opener on Saturday grabbed Shibuya's undivided attention, capitalized on scoring opportunities a day later. Teammates set him up and he took a greater role as a point-getter, finishing with a game-high 19. This included nine in the third quarter.

Ota finished with 10 points and five rebounds, Tawatari scored eight points and Junki Kano had seven.

When it was Suzuki's turn to speak to reporters, the first word he stated was "aggressive," and spoke about his mentality and the team's for several minutes.

"Improved pick-and-roll play" is important along with the confidence to run it, he added.

On the other hand, Tawatari reflected on his improved defense as a factor for his team.

But offense was a common thread of San-en's post-game banter.

Said Dozier: "We pushed the ball at a better pace today. We got movement and we stayed aggressive and we got them into foul trouble kind of early, so that all worked for us today."

Now, with a series split the NeoPhoenix prepare for the expected debut of former NBA first-round draft pick Josh Childress in a San-en uniform on Wednesday against the Toyama Grouses. Dozier described the victory as "refreshing" . . . because "we haven't won on a Sunday for awhile.

"For us to bounce back away and get the win is big for us going into next week when we got three games, and we're adding a new player so we are all excited about that."

Grouses 73, B-Corsairs 71 (OT)

In Yokohama, Toyama outlasted the B-Corsairs in overtime, snapping a 14-game losing streak.

Grouses guard Masashi Joho's clutch jumper with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter tied it up at 65-65 and forced OT.

With 3:06 to play in the bonus period, Toyama's ex-NBA big man Earl Barron's jumper knotted the score at 67-67, and the Grouses (2-14) held on for the win down the stretch.

Barron finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds and Takeshi Mito had a 12-point game. Joho and Sam Willard each scored 11 points, Ryo Yamazaki had 10 and Naoki Uto netted eight points with four assists.

Toyama's defensive pressure produced 11 steals.

Jeff Parmer led Yokohama (6-10) with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Takuya Kawamura scored 13 points. Masashi Hosoya and Jason Washburn each had 10 points, and the latter pulled down 11 rebounds as well.

Alvark 83, Levanga 71

In Obihiro, Hokkaido Prefecture, tone-setting guard Diante Garrett supplied 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals to energize Tokyo in its second win in as many days over the hosts.

Garrett made 9 of 11 shots from inside the arc.

Daiki Tanaka added 21 points for the Alvark (13-3), Keijuro Matsui poured in 11 points and Joji Takeuchi had nine points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Naymick contributed nine points and seven boards.

Asahi Tajima and Jahmar Thorpe led the Levanga (4-12) with 13 points apiece. Daniel Miller had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Yoshitake Matsushima scored 10 points.

Brave Thunders 83, Albirex BB 80

In Niigata, Naoto Tsuji and Nick Fazekas spearheaded Kawasaki's strong offense as the visitors wrapped up a weekend sweep of the Albirex.

Tsuji sank 8 of 15 3s in a 28-point effort and Fazekas had 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Power forward Ryan Spangler, who scored five points and grabbed nine rebounds, also blocked three shots.

In two critical trips to the free-throw line, Tsuji sank four shots in the final minute, erasing Niigata's 80-79 lead.

The Brave Thunders (13-3) knocked down 10 of 22 3s in the series finale.

Davante Gardner and Clint Chapman both scored 22 points for Niigata (8-8), while Yuichi Ikeda's four 3s accounted for his scoring output. Kei Igarashi added eight points and seven assists.

Brex 78, 89ers 60

In Sendai, title-chasing Tochigi used a 14-0 first-quarter run to seize control of the game and trounced the 89ers for the second straight day.

The Brex (14-2) routed Sendai by 26 points in the series opener.

Siena College alum Ryan Rossiter sparked Tochigi with 20 points and 20 rebounds and Kosuke Takeuchi poured in 13 points. Yutaro Suda and Hironori Watanabe each scored 10 points and Yusuke Endo had nine. Jeff Gibbs corralled 11 rebounds.

Tochigi outscored the hosts 42-28 in the paint and held a 53-34 edge in rebounds.

The 89ers trailed 42-24 at halftime.

For Sendai, Tshilidzi Nephawe scored 23 points and hauled in 14 boards. Masaharu Kataoka added 20 points. Kaito Ishikawa dished out five assists for the 89ers (6-10).

Jets 76, Northern Happinets 72

In Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, sharpshooter Kosuke Ishii canned six 3-pointers in a 26-point outing as the Jets wrapped up a weekend sweep of Akita.

Yuki Togashi scored 15 points and doled out four assists for Chiba (9-7). Tyler Stone added a double-double (13 points, 11 boards), former NBA big man Hilton Armstrong provided 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks and Michael Parker chipped in with eight points, four assists and four steals.

Shigehiro Taguchi and Ryosuke Shirahama paced the Happinets (3-13) with 13 points apiece. Scott Morrison finished with 12 points and 10 boards. Kevin Palmer and Deshawn Stephens scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

SeaHorses 93, Hannaryz 78

In Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, swingman Kosuke Kanamaru buried 5 of 7 3s in an electrifying 35-point performance, leading Mikawa past the Hannaryz for the second consecutive day.

Kanamaru was 8-for-8 at the foul line.

Power forward Gavin Edwards chipped in with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for the SeaHorses (12-4). J.R. Sakuragi added 14 points and four assists and Makoto Hiejima finished with 13 points, eight assists and a pair of steals.

Mikawa shot 60 percent from 2-point range and a coach-pleasing 8 of 16 from beyond the arc.

Kyoto (6-10) never led.

Lawrence Hill had 16 points for the Hannaryz, Kevin Kotzur scored 13 points with seven rebounds and Yusuke Okada put 12 points on the board.

Diamond Dolphins 78, Golden Kings 70

In Nagoya, former bj-league MVP Justin Burrell delivered a 30-point, 16-rebound, four-assist, two-block performance to guide the hosts to a bounce-back win over Ryukyu.

There were 19 lead changes in the spirited rematch.

Takaya Sasayama contributed 19 points, including four 3s, for Nagoya (10-6) and Tenketsu Harimoto and Jordan Bachynski had seven apiece.

Anthony McHenry, Lamont Hamilton and Shuhei Kitagawa all scored 13 points for the Golden Kings (8-8). McHenry was the team's top rebounder (nine boards).

The Diamond Dolphins' tenacious defense limited Ryukyu to 38.6 percent shooting from the field.

Second-division update: Here are the results of Sunday's games: Kumamoto Volters 82, Kagawa Five Arrows 77; Kagoshima Rebnise 80, Ehime Orange Vikings 77; Nishinomiya Storks 88, Fighting Eagles Nagoya 75; Fukushima Firebonds 79, Iwate Big Bulls 65; Shimane Susanoo Magic 73, Hiroshima Dragonflies 53; Yamagata Wyverns 74, Gunma Crane Thunders 63; and Bambitious Nara 64, Earthfriends Tokyo Z 62.