Admirals sweep Phantoms over Weekend

January 30th vs Pittsburgh Phantoms

By NATHAN KAHNE - H-P Sports Writer

Published: Sunday, January 31, 2010 1:08 PM EST

ST. JOSEPH - The American Basketball Association might be in constant flux, but the Lake Michigan Admirals are staying competitive and winning games.

Lake Michigan (6-5) defeated the Pittsburgh Phantoms 124-109 on Saturday night at Lake Michigan Catholic after the game was delayed for more than an hour because the Phantoms' bus took a detour to pick up players in Cleveland.

"I like what I saw from the Admirals, they are a good team," said Pittsburgh coach Rodney Webb. "This isn't my full squad, we had to pick up players not on our roster on the way here."

The Admirals led most of the game, but didn't put the Phantoms out of reach until late in fourth quarter. The lead stretched to 17 early in the fourth, but Pittsburgh cut it to eight with the ball midway through quarter.

Shane Ross, who scored 23 points, put the game away with six straight points - ABA style.

Ross was fouled while shooting after the Phantoms (6-1) turned the ball over before they made it past halfcourt, putting the 3-D rule in effect. The shot went in and a bonus point was awarded, but the rebound off the missed foul shot found its way back to Ross who scored and added another bonus point.

"This league is about finishing games because teams are never out of games," said Lake Michigan coach Buck Riley. "With the 3-D rule you can get four points quickly.

It was a game of spurts and we spurted at the right time midway through the fourth."

Ross came off the bench late in the first quarter and hit his first three shots from the field to give the Admirals a 30-24 lead after one period. His tomahawk dunk in the third quarter brought fans to their feet.

"Shane has been playing out of position, underneath, because we didn't have a true center," said Riley. "Shane is a great shooter and he can run and jump as well."

Odgra Bobo led the Admirals with 25 points and Dominick Melton added 14. Jon'tee Willhite and Antonio Griffen chipped in 13. The Phantoms had three players over 20 points, but only played eight players regularly.

Pittsburgh jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, as the Admirals turned the ball over five times in the opening two minutes. After the teams traded a pair of baskets, Lake Michigan went on a 12-0 run to take the lead for good.

Newly signed Jermaine Middleton, a 7-foot-3 center from Northwood University, made his Admiral debut and scored two points and grabbed four rebounds.

"Well, he is 7 foot 3," said Riley when asked what he liked about Middleton. "He changes a lot of shots defensively and he has a presence out there. We will gradually work him into shape and into games."

The Admirals shot 50 percent from the floor (50 of 101) and scored more than 30 points in each quarter.

PITTSBURGH (109)

Gil Cummings 1 0-0 3, Reggie Harwell 8 2-3 21, Tresor Kalambay 2 2-2 6, Dewayne Pettus 9 3-4 22, Daniel Waajid 6 0-1 12, Mike Kirkland 1 0-0 2, Roman Mims 6 1-1 15, Brett Wells 2 0-0 4, Chris Owens 7 6-6 24. Totals: 42 14-19 109.

LAKE MICHIGAN (124)

Jermaine Middleton 1 0-0 2, Dominick Melton 6 1-2 14, Antonio Griffin 5 3-4 13, Odgra Bobo 11 0-0 25, James Booyer 2 3-4 8, Deangelo Johnson 3 0-0 8, Jeremy File 3 2-2 9, Jon'tee Willhite 6 0-0 13, Larry Logan 3 2-4 9, Shane Ross 10 1-3 23. Totals: 50 12-19 124.

Pittsburgh 24 31 29 25 - 109

Lake Michigan 30 32 31 31 - 124

3-point goals - Pittsburgh 8 (Cummings, Harwell 2, Mims, Owens 4), Lake Michigan 9 (Melton, Bobo 3, Booyer, Johnson 2, File, Willhite,) Bonus points - Pittsburgh 2 (Pettus, Mims), Lake Michigan 3 (Logan, Ross 2). Total fouls - Pittsburgh 12, Lake Michigan 10. Fouled out - none. Technical fouls - none.

Records - Pittsburgh 6-1, Lake Michigan 6-5.