For the second night in a row, the Vancouver (WA) Volcanoes (11-3) claimed a victory over the Great Falls Electric (5-6). Great Falls trailed by double digits but cut their deficit down to six points with under one minute remaining before the Volcanoes picked up their eleventh victory in fourteen games by posting a 105-96 win in Great Falls, Montana.
Vancouver showed why they are one of the top teams in The Basketball League (TBL) when they surged to a 17-6 lead four minutes into the contest. Tyshon Picket of the Volcanoes accumulated six points during that stretch. Lamine Komara, Brandon Jamar, and Antwaan Cushingberry each made field goals during that time. Vancouver held a 17-point edge after the first quarter (32-15).
Lyle Hexom (Great Falls) connected on three consecutive three-point treys during the second quarter to finish the period with eleven markers. Tyshon Pickett made six field goals for Vancouver in the second.
After leading 62-40 at the break, Rashaun Coleman, who played collegiately in the NAIA with Oklahoma City, scored the first two baskets for the visitors. Elijah Ford and Tyshon Pickett each scored to cap off the 11-0 run to begin the third quarter. Great Falls’ Lamine Komara stopped the drought with a layup. The Volcanoes continued to lead by double digits throughout the third. GaMaun Boykin, who began the season with the TBL’s Emerald City (OR) Jaguars, made a driving layup for the final scoring drive of the third to increase the lead to 84-66.
Brandon Jamar, Lamine Komara, and Antwaan Cushingberry connected on the first ten points in the fourth for the Electric. Great Falls trailed 91-77 with 6:29 remaining. Great Falls kept chipping away at their deficit and Brandon Jamar’s layup made the score 97-89. The Volcanoes lead slipped away briefly as the Electric made the game exciting for the fans as they came within six points (99-93). Tyshon Pickett and Elijah Ford each added baskets in the final 34 seconds to preserve the win for Washington.
Tyshon Pickett, who once played for the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, scored 36 points, and had seven rebounds for Vancouver.
Despite a strong fourth quarter offensively, Great Falls failed on their comeback attempt. Lamine Komara (29), Lyle Hexom (25) and Antwaan Cushingberry (21) scored all but 21 of the total points for head coach Johnny Clark’s squad. Brandon Jamar and Lyle Hexom each contributed 13 boards.
On Friday night, Markus Golder scored 33 points in 32 minutes as Vancouver topped Great Falls, 116-99. Antwaan Cushingberry and Lamine Komara combined for 61 in the loss.
NEXT CONTEST: Great Falls embarks on their final three-game road trip of the 2024 TBL season this week. The Electric will make two stops in Washington state and one in Oregon. The games begin on Thursday, April 25th, they will play the Wenatchee Bighorns starting at 8:00PM (MST) followed on Friday (April 26th) for a game against the Salem Capitals at 8:30PM (MST) and concludes the trip with a date against the Vancouver Volcanoes at 8:00PM (MST) on Saturday, April 27th.
Great Falls has four regular season home games left in their inaugural season. The Salem (OR) Capitals will be in Great Falls on May 3-4 for two games beginning each night at 7:00PM (MST) at Great Falls High’s Swarthout Fieldhouse. The final home stand will be on May 24-25 against the Wenatchee Bighorns.
