The Great Falls Electric (4-3) are now 3-0 when facing the Emerald City Jaguars as they downed the Oregon team, 104-97 on Saturday night at Great Falls High’s Swarthout Fieldhouse.
Great Falls and Emerald City squared off in Great Falls’ first game of their inaugural season that saw the Electric pass their first test in The Basketball League (TBL) by posting a 122-89 victory in Eugene, Oregon. During Friday’s (April 5th) performance on the hardwood, the Electric led throughout the entire contest and topped the Jaguars, 97-87.
Great Fallls Electric coach Johnny Clark played most of his starters with limited substitution from the bench. Antwaan Cushingberry, the leading scorer for team who averages 22.0 points per game, played all 48 minutes and finished with 27 points and 8 assists. Brandon and Kareem Jamar each ended their night with 21 points apiece while teammates Lamine Komara and Lyle Hexom teamed up for 35 points. Brandon Jamar and Lyle Hexom grabbed 13 and 11 rebounds, respectively in the Electric’s second straight win.
GaMaun Boykin, Jaylen Nixon and Kevin Fletcher totaled 56 of Emerald City’s 97 points. Boykin’s topped his team with 11 boards.
Lyle Hexom connected on a three-point field goal 33 seconds into the contest for Great Falls’s first points. On the next possession, the Emerald City’s Jon Walker cut the lead to one (point) with his driving layup. The Electric trailed 7-3 early in the first quarter before the home team reclaimed the lead for the rest of the quarter. Antwaan Cushingberry’s long distance shot was successful with two seconds left on the game clock to increase the lead to 31-27.
The game started slow in the second quarter as both teams went almost two minutes before the game score changed. A pair of layups by Jaguars standouts GaMaun Boykin’s and Jaylen Nixon evened the score (31-31). Emerald City made five straight points before Lyle Hexom stopped the scoring drought that last 3:20 with a layup that cut the deficit to 36-33. The Oregon squad led by as many as 11 points (44-33) and went into the locker room with a 53-48 advantage.
Two minutes went off the clock in the third as Great Falls led 60-58 thanks to an Antwaan Cushingberry trey. The Electric held a slim 80-78 lead with a quarter to go.
Brandon Jamar and Lyle Hexom scored the first six points for the #4 squad in the Pacific Northwest standings in the TBL’s West Conference. Great Falls and Emerald City kept the game within reach, but Great Falls was able to have the final say. The matchup ended with a Lamine Komara alley-oop to Brandon Jamar who jammed it in the basket as time expired for the 104-97 victory.
There was not as many fans in attendance on Saturday as there was for Friday’s win against the same opponent. Former C.M Russell High (Great Falls) Josh Huestis, who spent some playing time with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, was the guest of honor on Friday’s game. Huestis teamed up with Russell Country Federal Credit Union for “Jersey Off Your Back” Night where he auctioned off his “one-of-a-kind” Josh Huestis Foundation jerseys. The Stanford University graduate signed autographs, took photos with the fans, and gave out 150 FREE “Josh Huestis Foundation” shirts for the kids.
NEXT CONTEST: Great Falls will be in the state of Washington for two games on the weekend of April 12th-13th. The first stop is a rematch with the Seattle Super Hawks on Friday, where the Electric went 1-1 against them in their first home game of the season on March 23-24. They will then travel to Wenatchee, WA on April 14th with their first opportunity to play the Bighorns. Both contests start at 8:00PM (MST).
The Vancouver (WA) Volcanoes will be the opponent for the Great Falls Electric’s next home games on April 19-20 at 7:00PM (MST) each night from the Great Falls High gym. The Volcanoes currently sit atop the Pacific Northwest standings. Great Falls fell to Vancouver in their third game of the season, 122-84.
