The Takamatsu Five Arrows' dynamic backcourt flourished in Saturday's 80-76 win over the visiting Saitama Broncos.
Shooting guard Yu Okada scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range, and point guard Rasheed Sparks added 13 points and five steals for the Five Arrows (24-11). Okada's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left shattered a 76-all tie.
Reggie Warren had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Takamatsu. James Davis led Saitama (18-17) with 17 points, Andrew Feeley had 15 and Mamadou Diouf and Gordon James scored 14 apiece, while Kazuhiro Shoji had nine.
In other bj-league action Saturday, the Oita HeatDevils topped the host Sendai 89ers 81-75. Andy Ellis paced Oita (16-19) with 25 points and Tsubasa Yonamine dished out eight assists.
Jason Braxton (16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists), Justin Allen (13 points) and Daisuke Kimiduka (a season-high 11) also made big contributions.
Bobby St. Preux's 25 points led Sendai (23-13). Elsewhere, the host Osaka Evessa beat the Ryukyu Golden Kings 94-84.
Mikey Marshall had a game-high 30 points for Osaka (26-9) and Jeff Newton had a super double-double (19 points, 21 boards), Matt Lottich added 24 points and Naoto Nakamura poured in 15. For the Golden Kings (9-26), Eric Walton was the top scorer with 21 points.
Center Nick Davis had 23 points and John Humphrey contributed 22 as the visiting Tokyo Apache edged the Rizing Fukuoka 90-88. Tokyo (20-16) got a spark from Darin Satoshi Maki, who had six points, five rebounds and five assists in a rare start, and Cohey Aoki (15 points) and Dean Browne (10 rebounds in 23 minutes) also had solid outings.
For the Rizing (13-23), Akitomo Takemo, a 22-year-old point guard, scored a season-best 20 points.