Category: Basketball

College basketball began the First Four segment of March Madness on Tuesday.

But the Birmingham Squadron? Well, the New Orleans Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate jumped straight to its version of the Final Four.

Birmingham faced the Eastern Conference-leading Osceola Magic at Legacy Arena, the first of its remaining four regular season games for the 2023-34 season. And what was billed as battle of the league’s leading scorers (both Birmingham’s Malcolm Hill and Osceola’s Mac McClung came into the contest averaging 24.4 points) went the way of the Orlando Magic’s developmental club, 142-118.

“We were down 13 at halftime and a lot was going on and I think we cut it to like six maybe in the third,” Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. “I do think we ran out of gas, and I do think we got down on ourselves individually. In building a team you’ve got to find somebody who can galvanize the group and tonight we didn’t have enough guys play well on their own to do it.

“It was tough loss, but I told them when we’ve been popped by someone we’ve responded (the next game).”

Osceola improved to 20-9 to tighten its grip atop the East while Birmingham falls to 14-17 and is all but eliminated from playoff contention. A crowd of 1,098 was on hand to watch.

Alex Morales came off the bench to lead the victors with 24 points, while McClung was just under his average with 23. Trevelin Queen had 22 in the win.

Other double-digit scorers for the Magic were Jett Howard (17), Kevon Harris (16), Daeqwon Plowden (14), Miye Oni (12) and Myron Gardner (10).

Morales had 10 rebounds and McClung dished out 11 assists to earn double-doubles.

Dereon Seabron had his third highest-scoring game of the season with 31 Squadron points, while Karlo Matkovic had 20 points and 11 boards and Jalen Crutcher scored 17 points to go with 10 assists to account for the home side’s double-doubles.

Hill finished with 15 points, Izaiah Brockington pumped in 13 and E.J. Liddell hit for 11.

The Squadron was outrebounded, 50-38.

“Offense isn’t our problem,” Saint said. “We’re the number one offense in the G League but defense is our problem … we’re the worst defense in the league. They played with a lot of physicality. We have a lot of young players and I don’t think they have a rookie, and even though it doesn’t feel good, it’s all part of growth.”

Matkovic had a 3-pointer, slam and two other buckets in the first quarter, but Morales’ 12 points helped Osceola take a 37-27 lead after one.

Seabron found the range for the Squad in the second – finishing the first half with 21 points – but the Magic led by as many as 19 in the frame.

McClung had already netted 18 points for the visitors, and Osceola was on top, 74-61, after 24 minutes.

The Magic held double-digit leads throughout most of the third and was in front 111-100 heading into the fourth.

Howard opened the quarter with a three for Dylan Murphy’s crew, and that set the stage for a dominating finish by Osceola that saw the Floridians empty their bench toward the end.

Next up: Birmingham finishes its two-game set with Osceola here on Thursday. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Developing players: Job One of a G League team is to get players ready for the NBA, and the Squadron trails only the Westchester Knicks in the number of call-ups this season. The Knicks have seven and Birmingham, six.

Magic City native and UAB standout Trey Jemison was called up to a 10-day contract by the Washington Wizards on Jan. 20. He was the first Squadron player to get a call-up since Jared Harper in 2022.

Hill, now on a two-way contract with New Orleans, was signed to a 10-day contract by the Pelicans on Jan. 27. Jemison got his second and the team’s third call-up on Jan. 30 when he signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Following the conclusion of that 10-day pact, Jemison was given a two-way contract by Memphis.

Crutcher (10-day) and Brockington (10-day) have also been called up by New Orleans.

OTD in 2023: The Squadron lost to the Mexico City Capitanes, 124-115, in Mexico City.

Seabron scored 29 points for Birmingham, followed by Hill, who had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. James Kelly Sr. added 18 points, Kelan Martin scored 14, and Feron Hunt scored 12 points.

The Birmingham Squadron hosted its annual Literacy Day this morning at Legacy Arena, with kids from 35 local schools helping the New Orleans Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate draw far and away their biggest crowd of the season.

And what lesson did the 4,544 fans learn by watching the Squad tangle with Brooklyn’s developmental club, the Long Island Nets?

Well, they discovered this is a really good brand of basketball.

And in this particular matchup, it was Long Island who played it best.

University of Alabama product Noah Clowney led Long Island and all scorers with 33 points and he had plenty of help as the Nets took a 134-124 decision to sweep the two-game set.

Keon Johnson came off the bench to score 22 points in a winning effort, followed by Kennedy Chandler (20), Kaiser Gates (18) and Kyler Edwards (17).

Malcolm Hill had 29 points for Birmingham, Dereon Seabron added 26, Jordon Hawkins – assigned to the Squadron from the Pelicans today – chipped in 19, Izaiah Brockington and Karlo Matkovic each finished with 15 and Jalen Crutcher added 10.

Long Island finished with a 42-33 rebounding advantage and Birmingham had 17 costly turnovers.

“Long Island is very, very good,” Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. “They’re very physical. We lost because they were more physical. Rebounding is for sure our Achilles’s heel. It’s something I’ve already thought about how to teach next season, but come at it from a totally different approach.

“It’s so valuable … we’re 17-2 on the season when we win the rebounding battle.”

Birmingham trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter of a game in which Long Island always seemed to stay a step ahead.

A Crutcher three at 9:01 tightened things up to six at 104-98, but the Nets then reeled off five straight points to grab a double-digit lead.

The eventual winners maintained a healthy cushion the rest of the way, improving to 16-11 and jumping into the third playoff position.

Birmingham dropped to 13-15. With just six games left and three and a half games out of the sixth and final postseason spot, its hopes of playing into April are fading.

“If we don’t make it, they’re the team I’m pulling for,” Saint said. “I like that team a lot.”

Matkovic – who had seven points over the first 12 minutes –started the game with a slam. But after Johnson’s 3-pointer at 4:49 put the Nets in front, 24-21, they led the rest of the frame. At the end of one Long Island was ahead, 31-29, with Clowney pacing the leaders with 11 points.

Long Island led by as many as 12 in the second quarter but Birmingham started chipping away at the deficit late, cutting it to 73-66 at halftime.

Hawkins and Hill – each with 14 points – helped the hosts get back in the hunt, although Clowney, Gates and Chandler’s combined 47 points kept the Nets on top.

The Squadron got as close as two in the third stanza, but Long Island refused to give up its advantage.

An 83-81 lead grew to 92-81 with under three minutes left in the quarter, and when the buzzer sounded Mfon Udofia’s charges still showed the way, 98-90.

The home team never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Next up: The Squadron travels to Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday to take on the Delaware Bluecoats at Chase Fieldhouse.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. The teams will meet again on Saturday at the same venue with a 5 p.m. start.

OTD in 2022: The Squadron dropped a 110-104 overtime decision to the Texas Legends.

Jared Harper led six double-digit Birmingham scorers with 25 -points, and also dished out 10 assists to get the double-double.

Zach Hankins got a double-double of his own with 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Zylan Cheatham joined the club with 10 points and 10 boards.

The NBA G League playoffs don’t begin until April, but Sunday’s clash between the Birmingham Squadron and Long Island Nets at Legacy Arena most definitely had a postseason vibe.

The visiting Nets – affiliates of Brooklyn – started the afternoon in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, clinging to the final available playoff position.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club, on the other hand, was one and half games behind Long Island in the standings.

When it all shook out, 2,124 fans saw the Nets hold onto their spot and make Birmingham’s job harder with a 115-112 victory.

“We talked about before the game and halftime (how it was a playoff atmosphere) and that they’re a good team,” Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. “I think they’ve been in the most clutch games this season, and we’re 12-5 in clutch games. We’ve had a lot of them go our way and that one didn’t … it was unfortunate, and a tough loss.”

Malcolm Hill led Birmingham (13-14) with 23 points, followed by Jalen Crutcher (22), Dereon Seabron (18), Izaiah Brockington (16), Karlo Matkovic (16) and E.J. Liddell (10).

Patrick Gardner and Keon Johnson came off the bench to add 23 and 20 points, respectively, for the winners, who improve to 15-11.

Kaider Gates and Kyler Edwards each chipped in 13 points for Long Island, Jacob Gilyard added 12 and David Muoka netted 10.

With just 12 minutes left the Nets led by one, 88-87, setting the stage for a frantic finish.

With 5:51 to go Gardner nailed a 25-foot trey to put Long Island in front, 102-97, and moments later a Johnson layup increased the lead to seven at 104-97.

Seabron cut it to 104-99 on a short jumper and the Nets were teed-up, giving Birmingham a free throw that closed the gap to 104-100.

With 3:08 showing on the clock Matkovic’s bucket sliced the deficit to 107-104, and at 2:13, Hill’s 3-pointer knotted things up at 107-107.

But a Gardner layup made it 109-107 at the 1:50 juncture, and Gilyard hit two foul shots with 14.2 seconds left to give the visitors a 111-107 cushion.

Hill then sank two freebies, but Birmingham was still down, 111-109.

Gilyard had a chance to ice it at the line with :05 to go and hit both shots to make it 113-109.

Hill connected on a late three, but the Squadron was still one point shy.

Nate Pierre-Louis added two charity shots with a second left, and Birmingham never got a good look on the game’s final play.

“That last play we were trying to run into somebody and get a tip, and that’s just really hard to execute,” Saint said.

Crutcher scored the first eight points for Birmingham and finished a high-octane opening quarter with 11 points. Matkovic came off the bench to tally nine points, and the Squadron entered the second quarter on top, 40-29.

The pace slowed considerably over the second 12 – and the home team cooled off – but Hill and Matkovic joined Crutcher in twin-figures and helped Birmingham hold a 65-62 edge at the break.

Long Island led by as many as seven in the third quarter, thanks in large part to the scoring prowess of Gardner, Gates and Edwards, and were on top 88-87 going into the fourth.

Next up: The Squadron finishes up its two-game set with the Nets on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association lost to the Rapid City Thrillers, 107-100.

Jim Farmer led Birmingham with 24 points while Skeeter Henry scored 20 in the loss. The biggest news of the night, however, came from Birmingham general manager Tom Maloney. He announced that Bandits owner Tom McMillen was attempting to sell the team and the chances of it remaining in Birmingham were “70-30 against.”