89ers' White delivers winning plays against Grouses

Wendell White made a pair of big shots in crunch time to lift the Sendai 89ers to a 75-72 victory over the visiting Toyama Grouses on Saturday.

White’s 3-pointer put the 89ers in front 73-72 with 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. With 1:05 left, he made another jumper to account for the game’s final points

White, a two-time bj-league MVP, scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Sendai (12-32). Fumiya Sato scored 11 points, Manato Kikuchi finished with nine points and nine rebounds and Ryunosuke Yanagawa and Masaharu Kataoka each had seven points. Kaito Ishikawa led the team in assists (four) and White had three.

Takeshi Mito led the Grouses (10-34) with 12 points. Naoki Uto added 11 points and six assists and Masashi Joho and Tsubasa Ohara scored 10 apiece.

Brex 103, Lakestars 57

In Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Tochigi jumped out to a 61-26 halftime lead and never looked back.

Kosuke Takeuchi notched a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Ryan Rossiter had 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Brex (35-9). Jeff Gibbs supplied 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting and made four steals. Naoya Kumagae added 12 points.

Tochigi dominated on the boards (45-27 rebounding margin).

Yusuke Karino had a team-high 15 points for Shiga (10-34) and Tomonobu Hasegawa scored 10 points.

Golden Kings 70, NeoPhoenix 67

In Okinawa City, Reyshawn Terry’s game-high 42 points, including 6-for-7 from downtown, sparked Ryukyu in a narrow win over rival San-en.

Terry, a University of North Carolina product, made 15 of 22 shots from the field. He drained 6 of 7 foul shots and pulled down seven rebounds.

Naoki Tashiro added nine points for the Golden Kings (20-24). Lamont Hamilton scored seven points and handed out three assists. Ryuichi Kishimoto also provided three assists in the win.

For the NeoPhoenix (25-19), Olu Ashaolu led the way with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Atsuya Ota scored 14 points and corralled seven rebounds.

San-en missed 17 of 20 3-point attempts.

B-Corsairs 90, Evessa 73

In Osaka, Yokohama dominated the fourth quarter, trounced the Evessa and snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Masashi Hosoya, one of five B-Corsairs players who scored in double figures, had a team-best 18 points. He sank all four of his 3-point shots. Takuya Kawamura and Jeff Parmer scored 15 points apiece for Yokohama (15-29), which outscored Osaka 27-14 in the pivotal final stanza. Faye Pape Mour added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Alexis Minatoya had 11 points off the bench.

The visitors sealed the win at the free-throw line, knocking down 19 of 22 shots, including Faye’s 7-for-8 effort.

Parmer hauled in 10 rebounds. He was one of four B-Corsairs players with three assists; the others were Hosoya, Kawamura and Kenji Yamada.

It was Yokohama’s first win since Feb. 4 against Chiba.

Richard Roby led the Evessa (21-23) with 14 points. Josh Harrellson and Takuya Soma scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Alvark 95, Sunrockers 63

In Tokyo, the Alvark closed out the opening quarter on a 25-0 run and led by as many has 40 points in a runaway win over Shibuya.

Diante Garrett, sidelined recently with a wrist injury, made a dynamic return to the Tokyo lineup. He scored 25 points, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, and dished out a game-high five assists. Keijuro “K.J.” Matsui also made 4 of 7 3s in a 16-point performance. The Alvark (34-10) finished with six double-digit scorers. They made 13 of 28 3s on the night.

Ira Brown scored 13 points for the Sunrockers (22-22) and Robert Sacre had a 12-point, 12-rebound outing.

Albirex BB 96, Levanga 84

In Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Niigata finished strong, using a 12-0 fourth-quarter run to seal the series-opening victory over the hosts.

Clint Chapman scored 32 points and hauled in 14 rebounds for the Albirex (20-24) and frontcourt mate Davante Gardner poured in 27 points, converting 12 of 15 shots from inside the arc. Guard Shunki Hatakeyama sparked the offense with seven assists along with six points, while Kei Igarashi had 10 points and four assists.

Takanobu Nishikawa led Hokkaido (16-28) with 19 points. He had seven 3s. Daniel Miller scored 14 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked four shots, Asahi Tajima scored 13 points and Daisuke Noguchi had nine. Ryota Sakurai chipped in with eight points and seven assists. Takehiko Orimo matched Sakurai’s scoring total.

Northern Happinets 70, Diamond Dolphins 64

In Nagoya, newcomer Leo Lyons had 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting and collected eight rebounds as Akita held off the hosts.

Akita guard Seiya Ando contributed 13 points, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Scott Morrison added eight points and 10 rebounds. Daichi Taniguchi chipped in with eight points for the Happinets (12-32).

Akita outrebounded Nagoya 49-34.

With a 10-0 run, the visitors took a 17-5 lead to close out the first quarter.

Jerome Tillman paced the Diamond Dolphins (22-22) with 27 points and eight rebounds. He made 5 of 10 3s. Seiya Funyu finished with 13 points and David Weaver had eight.

Nagoya shot 31.3 percent from the field.

Jets 89, Hannaryz 83

In Ise, Mie Prefecture, Michael Parker’s 26-point, 12-rebound performance and Yuki Togashi’s 18 points and five assists helped guide Chiba past Kyoto.

Ryumo Ono scored 16 points and ex-NBA big man Hilton Armstrong had 10 points, six boards, two steals and two blocks for the Jets (31-13), while Kosuke Ishii poured in eight points.

The score was tied 40-40 at halftime.

Marcus Dave led the Hannaryz (20-24) with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Hayato Kawashima had 16 points and four assists and Yusuke Okada contributed 10 points, but was 1-for-9 from 3-point range. Shingo Utsumi added nine points.

SeaHorses 87, Brave Thunders 78

In Kawasaki, longtime SeaHorses star J.R. Sakuragi had 10 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds and Gavin Edwards scored 21 points as Mikawa defeated the hosts to complete a series sweep.

Edwards also dished out seven assists and swatted two shots for the SeaHorses (35-10). Kosuke Kanamaru added 15 points and Tomoya Hasegawa scored 11.

Mikawa had a strong offensive game, shooting 56.3 percent from the field and doling out 26 assists against nine turnovers.

Nick Fazekas had a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds for the Brave Thunders (37-8) and Naoto Tsuji scored 25 points.

Second-division update: Here are the results of Saturday’s games: Shimane Susanoo Magic 80, Kagawa Five Arrows 64; Hiroshima Dragonflies 76, Kumamoto Volters 74; Ehime Orange Vikings 75, Kagoshima Rebnise 67; Earthfriends Tokyo Z 102, Bambitious Nara 65; Nishinomiya Storks 90, Fighting Eagles Nagoya 61; Ibaraki Robots 83, Iwate Big Bulls 67; Yamagata Wyverns 67, Aomori Wat’s 63; and Fukushima Firebonds 83, Gunma Crane Thunders 78.

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