The Ryukyu Golden Kings eked out a 74-71 victory over the visiting Gunma Crane Thunders on Tuesday night.
Ryukyu held Gunma to 35.8 percent shooting from inside the 3-point arc, improving to 10-2 overall, 6-0 at home.
The reigning champion Golden Kings yielded 27 first-quarter points, but coach Tsutomu Isa's club allowed just eight points in the second stanza in the bj-league contest in Ishigaki, Okinawa. Ryukyu held the Crane Thunders (1-11) to 36 second-half points to secure the win.
Center Kibwe Trim paced the hosts with 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. All-around star Anthony McHenry had 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and six blocked shots. Ryuichi Kishimoto and Narito Namizato each had 12 points in the win, and Morihisa Yamauchi and Draelon Burns added five points apiece.
Marcus Morrison led Gunma with 18 points. Carlos Dixon scored 10 and Daniel Northern Jr. had nine points and 11 rebounds. Former NBA center Melvin Ely added eight points and four rebounds.
On Monday, the Golden Kings defeated the Crane Thunders 88-65 in the series opener.
* * *
Did you know?: Ryukyu is second in the 10-team Western Conference and third overall in the 22-team league in scoring defense, holding foes to 66.7 points per game. Kyoto (12-2) is No. 1 in the West (62.2) and in the league. East-leading Iwate (13-1) is No. 2 overall in scoring defense (65.8). .... The Golden Kings are the West's last remaining unbeaten team at home. Only Iwate (4-0) hasn't lost at home among the East's 12 clubs.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.