Slam upended by Olympia Reign, 120-108
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Bellingham Slam struggled in nearly every aspect of the game as they were defeated by the Olympia Reign, 120-108, in a sloppy International Basketball League action at Whatcom Pavilion on Saturday night.
The 108 points scored for the Slam were the lowest scored in a game since April 3, 2009, when they fell to the Seattle Mountaineers, 106-102. The loss was also just their second setback at home in since 2007.
The Slam struggled from the early going, posting just 16 points in the first quarter. Despite the slow start, Bellingham trailed by just six at halftime, at 48-42.
Despite playing their second game in as many nights, Olympia just got better as the game went on, eventually building a 19 point lead, at 103-84, with less than six minutes left in the game.
Bellingham was able to make things somewhat interesting for the home fans, rallying to get the deficit down to seven with under a minute to play, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Bellingham was led by Jacob Stevenson, who scored 27 points and added seven rebounds and three blocks. Morris Anderson added 17 points, while newcomer Bryson McKenzie grabbed a team-high ten rebounds.
The Slam again struggled from beyond the arc, managing just 25 percent on 6-of-24 shooting from outside. Both teams combined for 39 turnovers in the contest.
The Reign were led by the 37 points of Nate Menefee. Nicholas Moore also had an impressive outing with a double-double of 26 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.