IBA: Johnson Dominates as Legends Sweep Capitals and Stay Undefeated

The Albany Legends defeated the Lansing Capitals in all 3 games this past weekend at CBA and are now 5-0.

Game 1 - April 13th, 2012:

I wasn't at this game because I was in New York City watching the Knicks crush the Wizards at Madison Square Garden. However, the Legends continued their undefeated season in my absence and beat the Lansing Capitals 133-126 and improved their record to 3-0.

Kyle Downey played in his first game as a pro. Lloyd Johnson led all scorers with 35 points in his season debut with the Legends. Josh Jones chipped in with 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds while Tadre Sheppard also helped out with 22 points and 7 rebounds.

Terrance Shaw led the Capitals in scoring and rebounds with 26 points and 18 boards in the loss.

Player of the Game: Lloyd Johnson (35 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds)

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Game 2 - April 14th, 2012:

The Legends beat the Capitals again on Saturday 140-132 this time. E.J. Gallup led the Legends with 25 points. Lloyd Johnson scored 21 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out a game-high 6 assists. Emanuel Mayben chipped in with 17 points and 5 assists while Josh Jones also helped out with 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Terrance Shaw had another great night and led the Capitals in scoring and rebounding again. He finished with 32 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

Towards the end of the game, Guy Dupuy got in a physical altercation with Will Wright of the Capitals and was ejected from the game. Wright received a technical foul.

Player of the Game: Lloyd Johnson (21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists)

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Game 3 - April 15th, 2012:

Sunday's game was by far the most exciting game of the series and one of the most memorable Legends games of all-time.

The Legends only had 9 players in uniform. Marcus Snipes and Guy Dupuy were in street clothes. Snipes was on crutches and Dupuy was probably serving a suspension for getting thrown out of the game the night before. I walked into the building at the same time he did, 19 minutes before tip-off at 5:41. He had on a Jordan jumpsuit and a backwards Raiders hat. He was showin' some swag:

The Legends led for most of the game until the Capitals went on a run in the 3rd quarter. At the start of the 4th quarter, the Legends were down 93-91 despite leading by 20 points earlier in the game.

Both teams played hard in the 4th and battled until the end. A short jumper by Lloyd Johnson put the Legends up 128-125 with 21.4 seconds left in regulation.


The Capitals answered back with a 3-pointer by Ty Motley and Emanuel Mayben missed a long jumpshot at the buzzer. The game went into overtime with the game tied 128-128.

The Legends and the Capitals went head-to-head in overtime, but a few altercations by Legends players were key. Lloyd Johnson started arguing with the coaching staff after being replaced in the game by Kyle Downey. He exchanged some tense words with both coaches because he didn't want to be taken out of the game.

Almost directly after that, Mayben got in the face of a Capitals player and was issued a technical foul. He responded by storming off the court, taking off his jersey, and throwing it on the ground in Andrew Bynum-like fashion (Think of Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Western Conference Semi-Finals). He stayed in the locker room for the rest of the game. Despite leaving the game in disappointing fashion, Mayben finished with 27 points and 9 assists. Ironically, Lloyd Johnson was put in the game to replace him.

The Legends were up 148-146 with not much time left in OT and E.J. Gallup was intentionally fouled by the Capitals. He could have iced the game up, but made only one of two free throws. The Capitals were down 3 with a few seconds left. They brought the ball up from their backcourt and Ty Motley nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to double overtime.

Lloyd Johnson heated up in the second overtime period and rained 3-pointers. The Legends pulled away and won 173-159 in 2OT.

Terrance Shaw had a phenomenal game (47 points and 18 rebounds), but was unable to prevent the Capitals from getting swept. The Capitals are now 3-5.

Player of the Game: Lloyd Johnson (Legends franchise high 51 points, 17-28 field goals, 8 3-pointers

Star of the Series: Lloyd Johnson - He is now the only Legends player to have played in all 3 seasons and wowed the fans at CBA in his first 3 games back with the Legends after playing overseas in Italy.

Tadre Sheppard had a lesser role in these past 3 games than the first 2 games of the season. The return of Lloyd Johnson had a lot to do with it. Johnson carried the scoring burden and indirectly limited Sheppard on offense. However, Sheppard still played an important role in each of the past three wins for Albany and finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday. He should continue to be a key player this season for the Legends.

Kyle Downey played his first three games this weekend with the Legends. He didn't put up overwhelming stats, but helped the team and utilized himself well. Downey is replacing Scott Morton on the roster and I think the team will break even with that move. Morton's height, defense, athleticism, and energy will be missed, but I think the Legends should play just as well without him.

Zachary Bye and T.J. Czeski gave solid contributions off the bench in the series. Bye rebounds very well for his size and plays solid on offense and defense. He got some questionable fouls called on him and fouled out in Sunday's game. Czeski will be battling for minutes now that the Legends are stacked at the point guard spot, but distributed the ball and scored well in the series.

Marcus Snipes was on crutches and didn't play in the series. Josh Jones stepped up in his absence and played well.

Next, the Albany Legends (5-0) will play the Gary Splash (8-1) in a two-game series starting on Friday, April 20th. The Legends and the Splash have the two best records in the IBA so far this season.

Sources:
http://ibaball.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/4-13-12-box-score-ny-vs-lansing1.pdf
http://ibaball.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/4-14-2012-box-score-albany-vs-lansing.pdf
http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Legends-get-sweep-3484076.php

Have any thoughts on the Legends sweeping the Capitals? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.