by Thomas Leturgey
After a highly successful weekend, including retribution against the reigning American Basketball Association (ABA) National Champions, the Chicago Fury.
Last spring, Ace Pippens’ team lost a Region Semifinal matchup to the Fury by a score of 100-86. The club has never taken any losses, especially those in playoff brackets, lightly. So, they have been looking forward to this chance all early season.
The Fury (6-1 when they came to town) made their way to A Giving Heart Community Center in the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh Saturday Night. The game was tooth and nail throughout with both teams taking momentary leads.
At the end of the first quarter, on the strength of Dylon Cormier, the Yellow Jackets had a 34-30 lead.
Mike Williams’ club rebounded and outscored the Yellow Jackets 27-22 in the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets then came back with a 32-28 third quarter lead.
The Yellow Jackets came on strong in the final quarter, led by Cormier, Kenny Holmes, James Jackson and Brandon Johnson with 36 points.
In the final moments, the Yellow Jackets were able to pull ahead and stay away. They collected a strong 125-117 victory.
Cormier, who has been the team’s MVP so far this season, led all shooters with 36 points. Kenny Holmes came in second with 25 points. The resident Steel City twins, James and Tim Jackson, are back with the club. James Jackson contributed 19 points and Tim contributed 11. Brandon Johnson posted 15 points. Nine Yellow Jackets scored in the game.
DJ Jones had 29 points for Chicago with a total of 11 players scoring.
There wasn’t much time for the Yellow Jackets to relish the victory.
The Central Pennsylvania Kings, another longtime rival, came to town on Sunday afternoon and the Yellow Jackets were ready.
Cormier landed four three-pointers in the first quarter and led the Yellow Jackets to an early 70-31 score in the first quarter. They continued to widen the lead with a 56-30 second quarter.
The Kings weren’t going to rest. In fact, they outscored the home town team 28-29 in the third. In the final quarter, both teams didn’t focus on defense. The Yellow Jackets scored 71 points and made a serious charge to 200. The final score was 195-133.
Cormier once again led all scorers with 49 points. Kenny Holmes, who celebrated a birthday on Sunday, added 44. Tim Jackson had 31 and James Jackson added 21. Brandon Johnson had 17 points.
Mook Bates led the Kings with 48 points.
With the wins, the Yellow Jackets remain undefeated with a 5-0 record. Largely due to the fact they beat Chicago, the Yellow Jackets rocketed their way up the ABA’s Top 25. This time last week, the Yellow Jackets weren’t on that list, but now they rest at #9.
The Fury drops to #19. There are 12 undefeated teams currently in the ABA, with the Buffalo Extreme topping the list at 6-0.
Next up, at home on the 29th, the Yellow Jackets play the 6-0, 6th ranked Ohio Kings.
The Yellow Jackets stand atop the ABA’s BLUE Division – Alpha Conference—which also includes the Akron Aviators and Port Huron Cougars.