SLAM FACE WORLD'S HIGHEST SCORING TEAM FRIDAY

The Slam, riding a eight-game winning streak and sitting atop the IBL’s West Division with a 10-2 record, face the frenetic Central Oregon Hotshots on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Whatcom Pavilion.

Friday’s game will pit two of the IBL’s most productive offenses against one another. Central Oregon boasts the distinction of being the world’s highest scoring basketball team, having averaged 147 points per game last season. Bellingham features the IBL’s second-best offense this season with an average of 131 points scored per game. The game will also be a match-up of division leaders, as the Slam hold a narrow lead over Vancouver in the West Division and the Hotshots find themselves atop the Southwest Division with a 6-7 record.

Last season, Central Oregon tied the record for the highest scoring professional basketball game in history by putting up a combined 370 points in a 194-176 victory on June 17, 2007 over the Windy City Soldiers. While the Hotshots’ high-octane performance that night merely tied the record, which was set on Dec. 13, 1983 when the NBA’s Detroit Pistons defeated the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, Central Oregon’s effort occurred in a 48-minute regulation game.

Bellingham is being led by a quartet of former Western Washington standouts. Guards Ryan Diggs and Jacob Stevenson lead a potent backcourt with 25.5 and 21.4 points per game scoring averages, respectively. Down low, forward Lukas Henne is enjoying a fine rookie season, averaging 18.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. Also, forward Tyler Amaya has fit perfectly into the Slam’s lineup after arriving from Germany to join the team three weeks ago. Amaya is averaging 19.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, and was instrumental in his first game with the Slam, scoring 24 points in a 129-125 victory over Edmonton last month.

Friday’s match-up with Central Oregon will open a two-game series with the Hotshots. The two teams meet again on May 26 in a special half-price Memorial Day matinee game, with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. at Whatcom Pavilion. For more information, contact the Slam at (360) 734-SLAM or visit their website at www.bellinghamslam.com.

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SLAM WIN EIGHTH IN A ROW, BEAT OLYMPIA 158-123

The Slam used a balanced attack as they soundly defeated the Olympia Reign, 158-123, at Whatcom Pavilion on Friday night.  The win, combined with a Vancouver loss to Portland on Friday, pushed the Slam into first place in the IBL's West Division.

Fed by a combined 22 first quarter points from Ryan Diggs and Jared Stevenson, the Slam jetted out to a 47-31 lead after the first quarter. Bellingham opened the game with a furious tempo and were on pace to score 200 points for much of the quarter before slowing down.

After falling behind early, Olympia regained their composure and played solidly in the second and third quarters. The Reign were only outscored by five points during those two periods, before the Slam’s athleticism got the better of them in the fourth quarter.

Paul Hafford and Jacob Stevenson shared high scorer honors for the Slam with 25 points each. Diggs was not far behind with 24 points while Tyler Amaya had another strong game with a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds.

The Slam enjoyed their best shooting night of the season, connecting on 59.1 percent of their shots from the floor. They also dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Reign by a 68-42 margin.

The Slam were forced to play Olympia on Friday after their originally scheduled opponent, the Shaanxi Kylins from China, experienced immigration problems and could not enter the country in time.

The Reign were led by the duo of Greg Johnson and Sam Moore, who scored 28 points apiece to share game-high scoring honors.

The Slam continue their May homestand with a game against the Central Oregon Hotshots on May 16. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Whatcom Pavilion.

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SLAM SURVIVE LATE SCARE, BEAT PORTLAND 147-130

The Slam withstood a late run from the Portland Chinooks to win their seventh consecutive game, 147-130 at the Reynolds Center on Sunday afternoon.

It was a tale of two halves as the travel-weary Slam couldn’t get their offense going for most of the first half. After netting a season-low 17 first quarter points and trailing by 13 early in the second, at 33-20, Bellingham finally got things going and were able to whittle away at the deficit, and used a 13-0 run in the quarter’s last two minutes to take a 60-55 lead into halftime.

The reinvigorated Slam came out strong in the second half, putting up 47 points in the third quarter to take a 13-point lead, at 107-94 after three periods.

The Chinooks didn’t go away quietly down the stretch, led by David Lucas’ 15 points in the quarter, as they got within six points, at 128-122, with 4:45 left to play.

But Bellingham’s Brian Dennis quelled Portland’s run by scoring the game’s next six points to push the margin back to twelve points. The Slam used clutch free throw shooting the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

Ryan Diggs led the Slam in scoring for the eighth time this season with 29 points. Tyler Amaya contributed a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds while Dennis finished with a season-high of 16 points.

Portland was led by the 42 points of Lucas on 15-for-22 shooting. Marc Williams and David Fisher shared second-best scoring honors for the Chinooks with 21 points apiece.

The Slam return home to open a four-game homestand on Friday, May 9. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Whatcom Pavilion.

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