SEASON ENDS WITH 132-121 LOSS TO LIGHTNING

The Slam couldn’t ride a hot start as they were outlasted by the Los Angeles Lightning, 132-121, in the IBL American Conference Final on Friday at the Monroe Sports Arena. The disappointing loss ends the Slam’s season with a 17-5 record.

Bellingham opened the game with near-perfect shooting and quickly built up a 15-point lead, at 26-11, six minutes into the game. Los Angeles was able to come back in the second half of the first quarter, and trimmed the Slam’s advantage at the end of the frame to seven, at 38-31.

The Slam were able to maintain a double-digit lead for much of the second quarter, before the Lightning closed out the half by scoring 13 of the last 16 points to trail by four at halftime, at 62-58.

Key Slam players, including Tyler Amaya and Jacob Stevenson, ran into foul trouble in the second half, hampering their efforts to hold onto the lead. A bucket by Trayvon Lathan at the 6:09 mark gave Los Angeles their first lead since the game’s opening moments, at 73-71. The Lightning closed the third quarter with a 15-7 run to extend their lead to ten, at 90-80, going into the final period. The Slam managed just 18 points in the third quarter.

A technical free throw by Tyler Amaya to start the fourth quarter would prove to be the only time the Slam would get the Lightning’s lead under ten points. Bellingham was able to get their offense going again, but were unable to get the defensive stops necessary to chip into the Lightning’s lead. Los Angeles maxed out their advantage at 19, at 121-102, before Bellingham was able to score 16 points in the finals two minutes. But solid free throw shooting by the Lightning prevented the Slam from seriously challenging the outcome.

Ryan Diggs and Paul Hafford combined to score 58 points, 30 and 28 respectively, to lead Bellingham. Amaya and Lukas Henne both contributed double-double, Amaya’s with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Henne’s with 12 points and rebounds each.

Los Angeles was led by Darrick Martin, who scored 28 points thanks to 13-for-18 shooting from three-throw line. Lamond Murray added 20 points, while Fred Vinson tallied 18.

With the victory, Los Angeles advances to the IBL championship game on July 18, against the winner of Friday’s other conference final featuring the Snohomish County Explosion and Oregon Waves.

More info:
 ◊ Box Score
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SLAM SURVIVE SCARE, DEFEAT TACOMA 116-111

Jacob Stevenson scored the go-ahead points with 1:16 left as the Slam rallied to defeat the Tacoma Tide, 116-111, in second round playoff action at the Monroe Sports Arena on Thursday afternoon.

The Slam appeared to be cruising to another IBL playoff victory as they rode hot perimeter shooting to take an 11-point halftime lead, at 63-52. Paul Hafford picked up where he left off in last year’s playoffs, connecting on 5-of-7 three-pointers en route to 19 first half points.

But Tacoma came back strong to start the third quarter, limiting the Slam to just six points in the period’s first six minutes. The Tide’s stellar defense allowed them to quickly erase the Slam’s advantage and take a two-point lead, at 72-71 with 3:37 left in the quarter. But the Slam hung tough after that, and managed to go into the fourth quarter trailing 87-85.

A Ryan Diggs three-pointer to open the fourth quarter allowed the Slam to quickly re-establish their lead, but it was short lived as the Tide scored 14 of the next 19 points to go up by eight, at 101-93, with 7:08 left.

The Slam responded by scoring ten straight points, five off the hands of Tyler Amaya. That run put Bellingham ahead by two, at 103-101, with under five minutes to play. Down the stretch, Tacoma was able to tie up the game on four occasions, but the Slam responded each time with clutch baskets.

Bellingham took the lead for good on back-to-back layups by Jacob Stevenson with under 90 seconds left, then used solid free throw shooting to close out the victory.

The Slam were led in scoring by Stevenson, who scored 29. Amaya contributed a triple-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Hafford finished with 23 points.

Tacoma’s Dontay Harris led all scorers with 40 points on 18-for-28 shooting. Antwan Williams added 18 points and game-high 14 assists. Tacoma finishes their season with a 14-8 record.

More info:
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 ◊ View playoff bracket

THE BELLINGHAM SLAM WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND!

If you're a Facebook user, be sure to join the brand new Bellingham Slam group page!

The Bellingham Slam's Facebook page will be the place to find the latest news and schedule information, exclusive photos and videos, and will also give you a chance to network with other Slam fans!

Click on the Facebook logo above to join the Slam's group page, or use Facebook's search function to find our page.  The Slam can also be found on Twitter by clicking the link below.

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