Yellow Jackets Improve To 12-0 With Win Over Buoyant Burning River Buckets

by Thomas Leturgey with Arianna Rosemond

The Steel City Yellow Jackets improved to 12-0 Saturday Night, after a hard-fought battle against a game Burning River Buckets team, 118-94.

The ABA's #18 Buckets (8-3) came into the contest with only five player on the bench, and Head Coach Patrick Koenigs dressed in case he was needed on the hardcourt. They had come off of a win last week, by defeating the Indy Naptown Pros 120-106.

The #2 Yellow Jackets had a nail-biting, last-second, come-from-behind win against the Ohio Bruins last weekend, 126-121. [Chula Vista Suns 12-0 were the #1 team in the land last week. They were to play the Tijuana Black Sheep in Mexico Saturday Night. The game had not been played at press-time.]

Co-Captain Gilmore Cummings scored the first 8 points of the contest, and the Yellow Jackets were in full control of the game from the outset. On the strength of a flurry of missed shots, the Buckets did not score their first points of the game until 3:49 to go in the first quarter. By that time, the Yellow Jackets had assumed a 23-2 lead. In addition to Cummings, Tone Reddic Sr., Claude Scott Jr., Brandon Franklin and Tim Jackson were putting points on the board. At the end of the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets were up 32-11.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Buckets started a comeback. With 8:14 to go in the second quarter, the Buckets had trimmed the lead to 35-21. With only a few exceptions, the Buckets, and their skeleton crew would not provide an inspired challenge.

In addition to Reddic, Justin Hamilton, Brandon Johnson, Tim Jackson and Claude Scott would have an active second quarter. At the half, scoring had slowed considerably, and the Yellow Jackets were winning 55-38. The Buckets outscored Ace Pippens' crew 27-23 in the second quarter.

In an unusual move, Pippens and his team did not leave courtside at the half. Some players on both teams practiced for about half of half-time, and stayed put for a short performance by local hip hop artist Baby Egypt.

The Buckets continued to chip away. Gilmore Cummings answered with five points on successive trips down the court. Tone Reddic started to get hot and helped extend the team's lead back to a 20-point lead, at 70-50. Justin Hamilton and Brandon Franklin added some important points as the lead was extended to 85-60. The Buckets started to come back, but Tim Jackson got hot. He nailed a 3-pointer that made the score 92-69, and another a few minutes later to make it 95-73. At the end of the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets were on top 95-77.

Tim Jackson was busy in the fourth quarter. It was his bucket that put the Yellow Jackets at 100-79. The undermanned Buckets team kept fighting, and they had trimmed the lead to 106-92 before Jackson hit a timely bucket. Jackson and Cummings started to land key shots, and Cummings hit two free throws after a foul to extend the lead to 114-92. 

Steven Vorum entered the game with 2:20 left to go in the contest and his teammates made sure he got onto Arianna Rosemond's scorebook. Vorum hit a bucket with :20 left in the game, making it 118-94. The Burning River Buckets held onto the ball as the final seconds ticked off. 

Tim Jackson, on the strength of 7 2-pointers lead the Yellow Jackets with 24 points and Gilmore Cummings added 23. Tone Reddic, Sr. had 19 and Claude Scott Jr. posted 18. Brandon Franklin was also in double digits with 16.

The Burning River Buckets played their hearts out and had remarkably-equal output. KT Taylor, Anthony Coleman and Dylan Cotento all had 20 points. Mattell Medley had 18 and Michael Ryan added 16 for Patrick Koenigs' hardscrabble club. 

The Yellow Jackets can't rest on their laurels. They play the #15 ranked Binghamton Bulldogs Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh at 4 p.m.