Game Review: Erie BayHawks 102, Los Angeles D-Fenders 89

Friday, January 8, 2010

The Erie BayHawks picked as good a time as any to win two games in a row, doing so in front of the NBA scouts gathered in Boise, Idaho, at the D-League Showcase. Yesterday's win came over the L.A. D-Fenders, 102-89. After the D-Fenders took a 3-point lead midway through the third quarter, the BayHawks went on a 17-4 run to close the quarter and never looked back, leading the rest of the way to improve to 6-11 on the season and 2-2 in 2010. The D-Fenders fell to 7-7 with the loss.

The big story of the game for the BayHawks was the performance of Mike Gansey: 25 points on 9-12 shooting (3-6 from 3), 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He also led the team in minutes played for the second straight game, showing that Coach Treloar plans to ride him the rest of the season. If he continues putting up numbers like he did yesterday and winning (the BayHawks are now 2-0 with Gansey in the lineup), the trade for Donell Taylor will be a successful gamble after all.

Of course, Gansey didn't win this one on his own. Despite struggling from the floor (5-13 shooting), Cedric Jackson continued to get to the free throw line (6-9), and registered a double-double (16 points, 11 assists). Jackson also atoned for 5 turnovers by recording 4 steals of his own.

John Bryant and Jackie Manuel both responded nicely after struggling in their Showcase opener against Reno on Wednesday. The BayHawks big man Bryant had 18 points on 7-10 shooting, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 40 minutes. Meanwhile, Manuel contributed 14 points on 6-12 shooting with 5 rebounds.

Offensive consistency was the key for Erie in this one. Their quarter scores were 24, 25, 27, and 26. And the BayHawks also played a solid defensive game, forcing 18 turnovers that included 9 steals and 7 blocks while limiting the D-Fenders to 44 percent shooting. It was a good win, but like Jay-Z says, it's on to the next one, which happens to be the rival Fort Wayne Mad Ants tomorrow night back in Erie.

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About this blog/blogger

Blog Talk BayHawk is an unofficial Erie BayHawks blog covering the NBA D-League. It features opinions and information about the NBADL and the Erie BayHawks. Blog Talk BayHawk is written from a basketball fan’s perspective to fill In the gaps left by professional journalists’ coverage of BayHawks basketball and the Erie professional basketball scene.

Matt Hubert is a 25-year-old writer and basketball fanatic born and raised in Erie, Pa. He graduated from Mercyhurst College in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in English and a dual concentration in writing and creative writing. Matt's not wavering from his stance as a lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan, but he will cover the BayHawks' NBA affiliates in Cleveland and Toronto when it makes sense to do so throughout the year.

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