In a battle of top two Western Conference teams, the first-place Evessa had only four scorers, but still managed to edge the Five Arrows 99-97 in overtime in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, in bj-league action on Saturday.
Guard Matt Lottich had a game-high 29 points, followed by forward Jeff Newton with 26, guard Mikey Marshall with 25 and guard Naoto Nakamura with 19. At B-Con Plaza in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Justin Allen guided the host HeatDevils with 24 points and 15 boards in a 92-84 win over the Rizing Fukuoka.
In the Eastern Conference, Toyama shooting guard Masayuki Kabaya came through, scoring 23 points to lead the Grouses to their second victory of the season, a 79-78 win over the Saitama Broncos in Uozu, Toyama Prefecture.
At Toki Messe in Niigata, Albirex BB sharpshooter Matt Garrison, the back-to-back 3-Point Shootout winner in the All-Star Game, notched 32 points and eight rebounds as Niigata defeated the Tokyo Apache 100-85.
In Sendai, the 89ers beat the Ryukyu Golden Kings 84-66, getting team highs of 29 points and 12 rebounds from Nick DeWitz.