IBA: Legends Beat Ballers in Comeback Win, Advance to Finals

The Albany Legends defeated the Kenosha Ballers yesterday 136-134 and will advance to the IBA Championship.

Although the Legends were down by 7 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, they came back and gained the lead. Late in the game, with about a second and a half left in the game, the Legends were up by 2 and Kyle Downey was at the line to shoot two free throws. He could have iced up the game, but missed both of them. Luckily, Lloyd Johnson grabbed the rebound at the buzzer and the Legends held on to win the game. The final score was 136-134.

Now that the Legends have won in the semifinals, they will be playing in the IBA Championship today. Their season all comes down to this last game. The Albany Legends (12-5) will play the Kankakee County Soldiers (14-3) today at 5:00 pm Eastern time.

Player of the Game: Lloyd Johnson (a game-high 43 points to lead the Legends to the championship)

E.J. Gallup scored 34 points in the win. Josh Jones helped out with 21 points and 7 rebounds.

For the Ballers, Tim Baines scored 27 points. Damon Osbourne finished with 25 points.

Today's final game should prove to be tough for the Legends. The Soldiers beat the Legends in their season series so far 2-1. Plus, the Soldiers also won the IBA Championship last season and Ryan Edwards is the league's leading scorer and reigning MVP. I've seen Edwards play and the dude's a beast. The Legends are gonna have their hands full with him.

But there still is a good chance that the Legends can beat the Soldiers today in what I would call an upset. Here's how: Lloyd Johnson needs to keep up his level of play and try to outplay Edwards. The Legends need to stay focused on defense and on the boards. I would suggest giving more minutes to Zach Bye because of his rebounding skills for his size. I think that Lloyd Johnson will get his numbers as usual, but the x-factor could be E.J. Gallup vs. Ryan Edwards. If Gallup can hit his three's and Edwards can be harassed defensively into having a bad night, the Legends will have a better chance of winning.

I think (and hope) that the Legends will win today and be the 2012 IBA Spring Champions.

Have any thoughts on the Legends beating the Ballers and advancing to the championship? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

IBA: Legends Beat Capitals 135-105, Advance to Semifinals

The 3rd-seeded Albany Legends beat the 6th-seeded Lansing Capitals in the first round of the IBA playoffs yesterday and the final score was 135-105.

Lloyd Johnson led the Legends with a team-high 33 points. Kyle Downey chipped in with 24 points and Shea Bromirski finished with 20 points. Adam Abdourahamane scored 18 points and E.J. Gallup scored 16 points in the win.

For the Capitals, Terrance Shaw scored 33 points in the loss. David Williams finished with 19 points. Though their season is over, their fans have to be happy with Shaw's play over the course of the season. In my opinion, he was one of the best players in the IBA this season.

I think the key to the Legends winning this game (which could have gone either way) was Downey, Bromirski, and Abdourahmane stepping up in the absence of Tadre Sheppard and Tiki Mayben. Downey and Bromirski combined for 44 points to make up for the loss of Mayben. Abdourahmane, who usually just plays the role of rebounder and post-defender, scored more than usual to help make up for the abscence of Sheppard.

I predicted in my last article on the Legends that they would lose in the semifinals, which will take place later tonight. I'm not so sure anymore though because the Legends will be playing the 7th-seeded Kenosha Ballers who upset the 2nd-seeded Los Angeles Lightning who had a 12-2 regular season record before losing in the first round of the playoffs yesterday. Considering that the Ballers had a losing record during the regular season, I think that the Legends will beat them in the semifinals tonight.

The Albany Legends (11-5) will play the Kenosha Ballers (8-8) at 10 pm tonight. One of the keys to the game for the Legends will be defending Devron Bostick. As of June 13th, Bostick was ranked third in the IBA in points per game behind Lloyd Johnson and the league's reigning MVP, Ryan Edwards. If the Legends can step up their defense and lock Bostick down, they'll have a better chance of winning. Other keys for the Legends include Johnson keeping up his high level of play, Gallup's 3-point shooting, rebounding, and making up for the losses of Mayben and Sheppard.

I think the Legends will win. If they do, they'll play either the Gary Splash or the 1st-seeded Kankakee County Soldiers. If they play the Splash in the championship, I think that they'll win, but if they play the Soldiers instead, it will be much tougher for them. But it's a bit early for talking about the championship right now because the Legends need to win in the semifinals first.

Have any thoughts on the Legends beating the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs? Think the Legends will go all the way? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.