The lead changed hands seven times in the final quarter of the Birmingham Squadron’s clash with the Motor City Cruise on Saturday at Legacy Arena. Once the Cruise got it back with 3:59 remaining, the visitors never let it go.
Jayce Johnson’s free throw made it 107-106 and the Detroit Pistons’ developmental club led the rest of the way in a 121-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliate.
Motor City improves to 8-7 while T.J. Saint’s squad slips to 7-9 and owns a three-game losing streak.
“Rebounding has got to get better – it’s something I’ve got to coach better,” said Saint, whose team lost the battle of the boards 33-26 and had only eight offensive rebounds to 18 for the Cruise. “To play at the next level you have to be so detailed, and the play that really got us … we didn’t talk on a slip-out pick-and-roll, and the littlest things can cause the biggest problems.
“The finest details have just got to be better if you want to play in the NBA.”
A season-high crowd of 2,819 watched Malcolm Hill score 25 points and E.J. Liddell add 23 in a losing effort. Other double-digit men for the Squad were Devin Cannady (17), Jalen Crutcher (17), Landers Nolley II (13) and Dereon Seabron (13).
Zavier Simpson pumped in 30 for the winners, Stanley Umude tallied 26, and Jared Rhoden added 20.
Umude also had 10 rebounds to earn the double-double.
Buddy Boeheim scored 12 and Nathan Knight closed out twin-figure Motor City scorers with 10.
The Squadron got off to a slow start, falling behind 17-9 early.
But Cannady bagged two consecutive 3-pointers, and Liddell powered his way in for a layup to knot the score at 17-all at 4:30 of the first.
The Cruise stormed back thanks to Umude, however, moving in front 33-22 with a minute to go in the quarter.
When the buzzer sounded Motor City led, 33-26, and Umude topped all scorers with 12 points.
The Cruise gained a 42-30 edge in the second and used a smothering defense to keep Birmingham out of sync. But timely threes helped the home team crawl back in the hunt, and a Crutcher 3-pointer 2:32 before the half cut the deficit to 48-44.
Motor City always seemed to have an answer, though, and went into halftime with a 58-49 lead.
The teams matched each other basket for basket during the bulk of the third period. Yet, after trailing the entire night, the Squadron finally got its first lead on a Cannady trey at the 1:30 juncture, moving on top, 83-82.
And with the score tied 85-85 with time running down, Nolley drained a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Birmingham an 88-85 advantage with one quarter to go.
Ther Squadron led by as many as six before the Cruise closed the gap, keeping things tight until they were able to overtake the BJCC tenants and win the first of a two-game set.
Next up: Nineteen hours after they finished up the first one, the Squadron and Cruise meet again. Start time for Sunday’s game is 4 p.m.
OTD in 1949: The Birmingham Steelers of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated Firestone of Decatur, 71-51, in an exhibition game played in Decatur.
Bob Murphy paced Birmingham with 21 points and Johnny Murphy added 14 in a contest that saw the Steelers play with the same five starters from wire to wire.
It was the SPBL team’s 13th victory in 14 exhibition games played during the 1948-49 season.
OTD in 2023: The Squadron fell to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 106-99.
James Kelly Sr., Zylan Cheatham and Kelan Martin scored 16 points apiece in a losing effort, while Josh Nzeakor, Feron Hunt and John Petty Jr. had 11 points each.
D.J. Stewart and Jamaree Bouyea had the hottest hands for the winners as both players pumped in 27 points. Justin Champagnie contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds for Sioux Falls.