IBA: Edwards Scores 51 as Soldiers Beat Legends 144-140

The Albany Legends have lost their second game in a row to the Kankakee County Soldiers in overtime. The final score was 144-140.

The Legends were looking to avenge their overtime loss the night before. E.J. Gallup, Lloyd Johnson, Tiki Mayben, Tadre Sheppard, and Kenny Tribbett were the team's starters.

The Legends started the game off hot and were up 9-0 with 10 minutes left in the quarter. They continued to dominate and went up 19-2 with 8:10 left. A 3-pointer by Gallup put the Legends up 32-20, but the Soldiers came back and ended the quarter on a 12-3 run. The Legends were up 35-32 at the end of the 1st.

The Soldiers and the the Legends went head-to-head in the second quarter. A dunk by Billy Rush put the Soldiers up 36-35. Midway through the period, Marcus Snipes and John Coffino had a verbal confrontation on the bench. After taking him out of the game, Coffino said to Snipes, "Where were you on that play?" After Snipes talked back, Coffino said, "Take your uniform off" twice. They both cooled off and seemed cool with each other later in the game.

Later in the second quarter, when the game was tied 46-46, Mayben was fouled while going up for a layup and rolled around on the floor in pain. It looked like he hurt his back. He left the gym for the locker room, but checked back in the second half and was productive. The Legends were up 70-60 at the end of the first half.

The Legends maintained their lead in the third quarter, but I didn't pay much attention because I was too busy watching Guy Dupuy. Coffino and Dupuy started arguing on the bench shortly after the second half started. Dupuy left the gym after more unfriendly words were exchanged between them, including Dupuy saying something about it being his "last game." He walked back through the gym a few minutes later in street clothes and talked to Nick Dean, the General Manager of the Legends, in the lobby. Dupuy later returned to the gym carrying a baby and spent the rest of the game in the bleachers with Dean.

The Legends were up 95-86 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Soldiers jumped out and went on a 7-0 run to start the period. Later, two free throws by Ryan Edwards tied the game at 99-99. The Soldiers went up 107-102 with 5 minutes left in regulation. Edwards had the ball at the top of the key and was being guarded tight by Kyle Downey when I yelled, "Yo Edwards, you got nothing!" He responded by missing an off-balance mid-range jumper.....Yeah, I totally psyched him out.

The game went down to the wire and was tied 115-115 with 1:32 left. A layup by Johnson put the Legends up 119-118 with less than a minute left. Two free throws by Rush after an odd intentional foul by Mayben put the Soldiers up 122-119 with 20.5 seconds left. Johnson tied the game with a clutch 3-pointer and the Soldiers took a timeout with 11.5 seconds left. Edwards missed a long shot off the backboard and the Legends took a timeout with 3 seconds left. Johnson missed a long three at the buzzer and the game went into overtime with the score at 122-122.

Edwards made a 3-pointer to start overtime and put the Soldiers up 125-122. A free throw by Sheppard cut the lead to 1 and the Legends were down 133-132 with less than 2 minutes left in overtime. A free throw by Mayben with 1:10 left put the Legends up 134-133. However, Edwards responded by making a 3-pointer with 57.7 seconds left and putting the Soldiers up 136-134. A free throw by Mayben tied the game at 136-136 with 44.5 seconds left. Anthony Kyle made a pair of free throws with 17.1 left and put the Soldiers up 141-138. Sheppard missed a 3-pointer and Edwards made a pair a free throws with 7.8 seconds left, putting the Soldiers up 143-138. The Legends were unable to come back and lost 144-140.

The Soldiers out-rebounded the Legends by a noticeable margin again (59-40). In a blog entry before the season started, I predicted that lack of size would be a problem for the Legends. These last two games have proved my point. The Legends are really missing Scott Morton right now. Also, the Legends couldn't get defensive stops when they needed them again.

Player of the Game: Ryan Edwards (51 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists)

Anthony Kyle helped out with 35 points and 8 assists and Stan Chismark chipped in with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Billy Rush finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Legend of the Game: Lloyd Johnson (40 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists)

Tiki Mayben also had a great game and finished with 31 points and 7 assists. Tadre Sheppard had a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds. E.J. Gallup scored 22 points in the game, but was a non-factor in the second half and overtime.

Random Highlight of the Game: Anthony Kyle to Ryan Edwards for alley-oop dunk



The Albany Legends (7-2) will play the Kankakee County Soldiers (7-1) today at 6 pm at CBA to end the series. The Legends need to win this game to avoid getting swept.

Have any thoughts on the Legends losing their second straight game to the Soldiers? Has Albany seen the last of Guy Dupuy? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

IBA: Mayben's 50 Not Enough as Legends Lose to Soliders

The Kankakee County Soldiers have handed the Albany Legends their first loss of the season in an overtime thriller.

The first thing I noticed was that Marcus Snipes was back in uniform and was rockin' orange sneakers. I also saw that Evan Lane was back with the team. Lane, who won a championship with the Legends in 2010, is the only Legends player besides Lloyd Johnson to play in all three seasons with the team. Albany had 12 players in uniform - the most all season for them.

Kenny Tribbett, Tadre Sheppard, E.J. Gallup, Kyle Downey, and Tiki Mayben started for the Legends. Johnson wasn't there when the game started and arrived at halftime.

Ryan Edwards scored the first points of the game and the Soldiers went up 2-0. They ended up scoring the first 6 points of the game and led 18-8 with 5:56 left in the first quarter. Mayben then went on an 8-0 run all by himself in a series of plays that included consecutive 3-pointers, a block, and two free throws. That cut the lead to 2 and the Legends were down 18-16. Another 5 points in a row by Mayben put the Legends up 21-20. Another 3-pointer by Mayben put the Legends up 28-26, but the Soldiers led 29-28 at the end of the 1st.

Both teams went head-to-head in the second quarter. The game was tied 31-31 with 10:51 left and then tied again 39-39. The game was tied up again 50-50, but them the Soldiers went on a 10-0 run to go up 60-50 and John Coffino called a time-out with 2:52 left in the quarter. The first half ended with the Soldiers up 63-60.

The Legends and Soldiers continued to battle in the second half. A breakaway dunk by Mayben cut the Soldiers' lead to 1 and the score was 78-77. At the end of the 3rd, the Soldiers were up 99-94.

The game went down to the wire in the 4th. The Soldiers were leading 129-127 with less than a minute left in regulation. The Legends were still down by 2 after a layup by Johnson with 30.3 seconds left. The Soldiers then turned the ball over with 19.2 left. In the clutch, Mayben made a floater and the game was tied 131-131 with 11.6 seconds left. Edwards missed a shot that probably would have won it for the Soldiers and the Legends couldn't get a shot off before time expired. The game went into overtime.



The Soldiers went on a 12-5 run to start overtime and were up 143-136 with 1:46 left in OT. A dunk by Sheppard cut the lead to 3 and the Legends were down 145-142 with 1:10 left. Later, a 3-pointer by Mayben cut the lead to 2 and the Legends were down 147-145. Late in the game, a 3-point play by Sheppard cut the lead to 1 and the Legends were down 149-148. However, the Legends would never come any closer and a highlight dunk by Edwards with seconds left in OT served as the dagger. The Soliders won 153-148 as Mayben missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that wouldn't have mattered.

One of the big differences in the game was rebounding. Kankakee out-rebounded Albany 55-39. Another big factor was that the Legends couldn't get defensive stops when they needed them. Also, the Legends only shot 11 of 39 from 3-point range.

Player of the Game: Tiki Mayben - He scored 50 points (2nd most in Albany Legends history), dished out 14 or 7 assists (Times Union said he had 7 assists, the Albany Legends website said he had 14 assists), and grabbed 6 rebounds on his 25th birthday, but the Legends still lost to the Soldiers in a heart-breaker. He shot 19 of 39 from the field and hit 6 out of 7 free throws.

Tadre Sheppard and Kyle Downey also had great games. Sheppard scored 42 points off of 18-23 field goals and Downey finished with 25 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and 6 assists. E.J. Gallup and Lloyd Johnson also gave solid efforts. Gallup had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists and Johnson (who fouled out) finished with 11 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Zach Bye, Marcus Snipes, and Kenny Tribbett combined for 10 points while T.J. Czeski, Guy Dupuy, Josh Jones, and Evan Lane  (who all received limited playing time) went scoreless. I'm not sure Jones even played at all. Lane struggled in his return to Albany and will be looking to bounce back later today.

Ryan Edwards finished with 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists (This should come as a surprise to no one who has ever seen him play or follows the IBA). Billy Rush had an even better game and finished with 52 points and 12 rebounds. Stan Chismark, Anthony Kyle, and CeCe Malone also had productive games and all finished with double-doubles.

Random Highlight of the Game: Tiki Mayben throws an alley-oop to Tadre Sheppard.



Next, the Albany Legends (7-1) will play the Kankakee County Soldiers (6-1) today at 7 pm at CBA. The Legends need to win this game in order to keep first place. However, keep in mind that the Legends have never lost a home series before.

Have any thoughts on the Legends losing for the first time this season. Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.