Holmes Posts 48, Yellow Jackets Cruise In Exciting Return To ABA, 166-68

Steel City Yellow Jackets head coach Ace Pippens addresses his team after their 166-68 win. Photos by Thomas Leturgey

By Thomas Leturgey

At the very beginning of the Steel City Yellow Jackets vs. Port Huron Cougars game, the home team looked to be on its heels. A large crowd was on hand to watch the American Basketball Association (ABA) team return to A Giving Heart Community Center after a one-year hiatus.

Port Huron’s Aron “Skeez” Smith and Rob Robinson jumped ahead to a 4-0 lead with about a minute and a half in the game. Steel City newcomer Jay Washington hit a jumper, was fouled and connected on a free throw to get Ace Pippens’ team on the scoreboard. The Cougars’ Xander Mylan answered with a shot to extend the Michigan team’s lead to 6-3. And then the Yellow Jackets’ Kenny Holmes got the ball. He hit a three pointer and tied the game 6-6 with 8:17 to go in the quarter. Another newcomer at guard, Job Brown, hit his first jumper in Black and Gold. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 8-6.

That’s the closest Scott Moncrief’s team would come to the returning Yellow Jackets.

At the end of the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets took advantage of some poor Cougars’ shooting but added pressure with outstanding defense. They led at the end of the first quarter by a respectable 29-11.

The Steel City squad outscored the Cougars 39-16 in the second quarter but then exploded in the third and fourth quarters.

At the end of the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets were winning 120-47. The team could feel the proverbial blood-in-the-water in the final quarter and tried their darnedest to beat the Cougars by 100 or more. They nearly did it.

When the game concluded, Pippens’ team raced to a 166-68 win.

Kenny Holmes ended the game with 48 points, Holloway finished with 32 and Brown 22. Jay Washington added 19, while another newcomer Tayon English came off the bench with 17. New players Theo Brady Jr. added 15 points, and Cliff McNair posted 10. Cordell Nicolai, a 6’9” veteran forward who has played against the Yellow Jackets, most recently for the Western Pennsylvania Wolverines, joined the club this week, rebounded well and scored five points.

“It was a good game. Good win,” said Pippens after the game. “They worked hard. They played well on defense. We only gave up 68 points. I am very pleased with the defense.” The defense did force a lot of turnovers and gave the team many opportunities to add with the unique-to-the-ABA “3D” offense. “[But there’s] A lot of work to do.”

As for the players under the net and in the paint, “This is the biggest team that I’ve ever had. I was kind of curious how it would go. We had a couple of different lineups and rotations. I’m excited about the season.”

The Yellow Jackets travel to Buffalo next weekend before returning to the Allentown neighborhood within the city of Pittsburgh to play Erie Elite in the first regional game of the season.