Category: Basketball

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 13^th 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.

Every second of every NBA G League game is designed to get players ready for the next level.

For those signed to two-way contracts, more minor league minutes can translate to more major league opportunities.

Guard Dereon Seabron, for example, got a triple-double for Birmingham on Thursday in the Squadron’s 125-115 loss to the College Park Skyhawks. The two-way standout – who has made five appearances with the parent club New Orleans Pelicans this season – closed the night with 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

And the rest of the NBA hopefuls on the roster know that their hopes depend on making the most of every appearance.

Former Squadron standout Trey Jemison was a rebounding machine during his time in the Magic City. Today, the center out of UAB is on his second 10-day contract, and coming off a five-point, three-rebound showing for the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. That game saw him get 13:34 of court time and register his first NBA points.

And forward Malcolm Hill parlayed a great season-long showing in Birmingham with a 10-day contract with the Pelicans.

Assigned back to the Squadron on Thursday, he scored a game-high 33 points and is averaging 24.9 points per game when suiting up for T.J. Saint’s club.

But while every player in the G League wants to move up, they also want to win. And with a 7-8 record, the Squadron will close out the first half of its 34-game regular season with a weekend doubleheader against the Motor City Cruise.

The first game is Saturday when Birmingham celebrates HBCU Night at Legacy Arena with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

On Sunday, the teams meet again at 4 p.m.

After that, the Squadron will play three road games leading up to the All-Star break, which runs from February 16-21.

Birmingham faces the Westchester Knicks February 8 and February 9 in White Plains, New York, and returns to Gateway Center Arena on February 15 to square off with College Park again.

“You obviously want to be playing well going into the all-star break, and when you look at the standings, we know it’s really knotted up between the first seed and the tenth seed,” Birmingham guard Devin Cannady said following a recent home game. “So, for us, we kind of look at the block of five games – a five-game chunk.”

As of today, the Delaware Blue Coats (8-4), College Park (10-5) and Indiana Mad Ants (10-5) are in a statistical tie for first in the Eastern Conference.

The Squadron sits in 11^th place, but is still just three games out of first and one game out of sixth – and playoff position.

The top six teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences earn spots in the postseason.

“The way I look at it, is you want to go 4-1 during five-game blocks,” Cannady added. “A lot of teams are going 3-2 and 2-3, so if you can go 4-1, you can start separating yourself.”

Using those markers, Birmingham has gone 1-4, 4-1 and 2-3.

“When we’re out there playing, we’re not trying to chase anyone or catch anyone, we’re trying to focus on our fundamentals,” Cannady said. “T.J. always says we just have to keep getting better and have that next man up mentality. Everybody’s got to lock in, everybody’s got to focus, and that’s how you win games.”

With call-ups and assignments, lineups can vary wildly from one night to the next. Saint didn’t know he would have access to Hill and Pelicans forward E.J. Liddell for Thursday night’s game until Thursday morning.

Throw in mandated minute restrictions and coaches – and players – have to adjust on the fly.

“We’re like fish living in water,” said Saint, who has watched 16 different players take the floor in 2023-24. “They don’t notice the water, it’s just what you’re in. Things and situations change, but we’re kind of used to it.”

Regardless of the situation, the Squadron would like nothing better than to finish up the first half of the slate with a home sweep of the Cruise.

“Home stretches are really important,” guard Izaiah Brockington said. “This is the time you realize you need to start stacking wins on top of each other.”

For ticket information, go to birmingham.gleague.nba.com/tickets.

The Windy City Bulls finally got to wear their own unforms on Tuesday.

And unfortunately for the homestanding Birmingham Squadron, this time they were dressed for success.

Quenton Jackson scored 40 points and five of his teammates managed double figures as the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate downed the New Orleans Pelicans farmhands, 117-104, at Legacy Arena.

The Bulls were forced to don Birmingham training gear on Sunday because their regular unis weren’t loaded onto the flight, and lost that clash, 130-127. They had better luck in the rematch wearing traditional road threads.

Windy City blew open a tight game by capitalizing on Squadron turnovers and finding success from inside and outside, outscoring Birmingham 28-21 in the fourth quarter and leading by as many as 18.

“Jodie Meeks and Joe Barrer, our assistants, talked to the team yesterday and told them, ‘Look, their two-ways are gone and that means other guys are going to get more opportunities and we have to be ready,’” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “I think maybe we took it for granted. I thought we played hard to start the game. We missed shots early, but were doing things we wanted to do. The fourth quarter … we kinda let go of the rope and that’s something that’s gonna be addressed tomorrow.”

Jalen Crutcher paced the Squad with 21 points, followed by Devin Cannady (19), Izaiah Brockington (15), Landers Nolley II (15) and Dereon Seabron (13).

Aside from Jackson’s big night, Evan Gilyard finished with 16 points, Scottie Lindsey and Chris Clemons each had 13, and Ben Coupet Jr. tallied 11.

Lacey James registered the double-double for the winners with 10 points and 11 boards.

The Bulls had 19 second chance points to just four for Saint’s crew.

With the loss the Squadron (7-7) slips to ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Windy City (4-9) remains last in the 16-team group.

Birmingham struggled to score early, falling behind 15-6 before finally climbing back into the hunt. By the end of the opening period the Squadron had already gotten 14 points from Crutcher, but Lindsey and Jackson had hot hands for the visitors – combining for 18 points – and helped Windy City take a 34-33 lead into the second quarter.

Things stayed tight over the next 12 minutes, with Birmingham tying the game for the first time at 7:14 thanks to a Tevian Jones trey. The home team took its first lead of the night at the 2:20 mark on a Cannady shot from beyond the arc, making it 53-51, Squadron.

Very little separated the teams the balance of the first half, and Windy City went to the locker room on top, 56-55.

Brockington picked up his fifth personal foul at 9:45 of the third, limiting his action the rest of the way. Even so, Birmingham managed to lead by as many as six before the Bulls charged back, turning the frame into mostly a back-and-forth affair.

Windy City made a late run in the final two minutes, though, and held an 89-83 advantage with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

The ran away with it from there.

Let it fly: Win or lose, no one can accuse Birmingham of playing boring basketball.

Going onto tonight’s game, the Squadron ranked first in the league in 3-pointers made (214) and 3-point percentage (40.2), second in points per game (121.1) and second in free throw percentage (80.1).

While the team normally takes roughly 40 3-point attempts per game, Saint said he’d like to see that number rise.

“I told our team from the beginning we need to shoot 40-plus threes, and now I’m doubling down on that and saying we need to try for 50 a game,” Saint said Sunday. “Threes are worth more than twos, so if we can hit more, it evens out when the other team scores more in the paint.”

Birmingham put up just 38 long rangers on Tuesday, hitting only 12.

On the move again: Former Squadron standout Trey Jemison signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. He started all 25 games for Birmingham, averaging 10.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 blocks in 31.6 minutes while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. He made two appearances for the Washington Wizards after signing a 10-day contract with that club on Jan. 20.

OTD in 1949: The Birmingham Steelers of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Laurel Oilers, 62-60, at the Municipal Auditorium. It was a snowy day in the Magic City, but 250 fans still showed up to cheer on the local team.

Johnny Murphy led the winners with 22 points, while Joe Parker added 15 and Bob Murphy finished with 11.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association lost to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 133-120, for their sixth consecutive road defeat.

Jim Farmer and Irving Thomas each scored 20 points for the Bandits.

Corey Gaines led the winners with 28 points.

The Skyforce, incidentally, is the longest-running minor league basketball team in the United States. It was founded in 1989 as a member of the CBA, joined the International Basketball Association for one season (2000-01), and after a five-year hiatus was reformed as an NBA D-League (now G League) club in 2006.

Next up: The Squadron takes a quick road trip to the Atlanta suburbs on Thursday to battle the Eastern Conference-leading College Park Skyhawks at Gateway Center Arena.

Gametime is set for 6 p.m.