Balanced scoring carried the Tokyo Apache to a 103-94 victory over the Ryukyu Golden Kings on Saturday night at Ariake Colosseum.
John "Helicopter" Humphrey had a game-high 31 points and Cohey Aoki contributed 21 as the Apache improved to 17-16. Jun Iwasa and Dameion Baker added 14 points apiece.
Naoto Takushi had a 17-point, 12-assist game, but the Golden Kings fell to 9-24.
Also Saturday, the Saitama Broncos improved to 17-16, defeating the visiting Osaka Evessa 81-74 before a crowd of 3,528. Mamadou Diouf's all-around effort — 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists — paced the Broncos. Taishiro Shimizu added 15 points.
For Osaka (25-8), Mikey Marshall had a team-best 17 points and Naoto Nakamura and Matt Lottich each scored 16.
Elsewhere, the Oita Heat Devils topped the Sendai 89ers 103-97 as center Andy Ellis had a 42-point evening. Justin Allen scored 25 for Oita (15-18) and Tsubasa Yonamine dished out six assists.
Ryan Blackwell and Nick DeWitz scored 23 apiece for the 89ers (23-10).
The host Takamatsu Five Arrows (23-10) routed the Rizing Fukuoka 112-79 as 12 players put points on the board, led by Reggie Warren's 23 and Yu Okada's 19.
The host Niigata Albirex BB beat the Toyama Grouses 95-81. All-Star Yuichi Ikeda led the Albirex attack with 19 points and Andre Smith had a double-double (13 points, 14 rebounds) as the hosts raised their record to 22-13.
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