Potawatomi Fire Outlast the Great Falls Electric in 2 OT in Game 1 of TBL Semi-Finals

Photo credit Kevin Scott In just their second season in The Basketball League (TBL), the Great Falls Electric (25-4) made it through three rounds of the TBL Playoffs winning each of their best-of-three series in two games. The Electric, led by first-year head coach Steve Keller, won 21 of their 24 regular season games in the TBL this season and were the top team in the six-team TBL’s West Conference Pacific Northwest Division. During the 2025 TBL Playoffs, Great Falls downed the Seattle (WA) Super Hawks in two games of their best-of-three series in the West Conference Division Finals (May 28, 30) with a 127-114 Game 1 win and a 115-106 Game 2 victory. The first weekend of June (6-7), the victories over Seattle ensured a playoff spot in the TBL’s West Conference Finals where they hosted the San Diego (CA) Sharks where they defeated the California team by double digits each night, taking the first game 118-102 followed by a 107-94 clinching win in Game 2. The win in the West Conference Finals earned the Electric a spot in the TBL Semi-Finals where they faced the only team in the TBL with a better regular season record, the Shawnee, Oklahoma based Potawatomi Fire, who won 19 of their 20 regular season contests in the TBL’s Midwest Conference’s Central Division and are currently 24-1. The Fire are the 2023 and 2024 TBL National Champions where they had two current members of the Great Falls Electric on their roster in KD Moore and Terry “TJ” Maston Jr. on those squads. On Thursday, June 12th, Great Falls hosted their only home date against the Fire before the series shifts to Oklahoma for Game 2 and (if necessary) Game 3 on Sunday, June 15th and Monday, June 16th with tip off times slated for 6:00PM (MST) at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The Great Falls Electric never relinquished their lead through four quarters on Thursday night in Game 1 of the 2025 TBL Semi-Finals hosted by Great Falls and played at the University of Providence’s McLaughlin Center. The Fire eventually evened the score at the end of the contest and sent the exciting game into overtime. Both teams ended the first overtime with 113 points apiece. In the second overtime, Potawatomi capitalized on some late Great Falls mistakes and came away away with the 124-122 road victory to lead the best-of-three series 1-0. The Great Falls offense did not waste any time getting the ball in the basket during the opening quarter. Robert Upshaw’s hook shot, a pair of free throws by Lyle Hexom, and back-to-back three-pointers by Tremont Robinson-White capped off a two-minute run ending with Great Falls leading 10-0 over the defending national champions. Potawatomi’s Daylon Guy and Paul Harrison cut the lead in half (12-6) with 7:46 remaining. The Electric never trailed the Fire but both clubs were tied at 16-16 with four minutes left. The Electric finished the quarter on a 6-0 run (22-16) with points scored by Tremont Robinson-White, KD Moore, and TJ Maston Jr. The host team outscored Oklahoma, 30-25 for the 53-41 advantage at halftime. TJ Maston Jr. and Tremont Robinson-White scored the first eight points for the Montana TBL team. TJ Maston Jr. and Robert Upshaw led the second quarter charge with eight points apiece. Ke’Tarrious Bouchum led the Fire with seven second quarter points. Great Falls came out after halftime with a ten-point advantage (58-48) four minutes into the quarter with KD Moore, Lyle Hexom and Tremont Robinson-White scoring the points. Potawatomi cut the lead to 71-65 on a Paul Harrison basket with under two minutes left. The Electric ended the third scoring six of the final eight points. The Electric continued to lead in the fourth but the Fire’s Ricardo Artis II evened the score (83-83) with 7:24 left in regulation. Great Falls’ offense scored five unanswered points (88-83) before a timeout was called with 5:39 to go. The home team led by as many as eight during the final minutes. The Fire’s Paul Harrison’s layup with 1.5 seconds on the clock tied the score at 101-101. Great Falls had two opportunities to possibly win the game but two Great Falls Electric players each missed a pair of free throws in the final 16 seconds. The first five-minute overtime began with the Montana TBL team leading by as many as three points. Lyle Hexom buried a three-point field goal with 54 seconds left for a 113-11 lead. The Fire would not give up and sent the game to a second overtime by converting two free throws before the final buzzer. As the second extra quarter began, both teams traded baskets through the first four minutes. Daylon Guy’s jump shot with 57 seconds left put the Fire out in front, 123-121. Lyle Hexom of the Electric went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe on the next possession. Great Falls was forced to foul with 0.8 seconds to go. Daylon Guy ended the game by connecting on one of his two free throws for the 124-121 win. Daylon Guy played the entire 58 minutes and led both teams with 35 points for the Fire. He finished with a triple double by also creating 14 assists and acquiring 12 rebounds. Ricardo Artis II added 18 points, Paul Harrison had 17 points, Jachai Simmons gathered 16 points and Isaiah Wade rounded out the double digit scoring with 12. The Electric, who led through the first four quarters until the final seconds, was led by a 31-point, 14-rebound performance by Lyle Hexom. Robert Upshaw tallied 22 points followed by Tremont Robinson-White, who had one of his biggest scoring performances of the season (23 points) and dished out 11 assists and three blocks. KD Moore, the team’s leading scorer this season, was held to 16 points. Terry “TJ” Maston Jr. chipped in 12 points for the Montana TBL squad. Great Falls are 4-1 in the playoffs while Potawatomi improved to 5-0. Photo credit Kevin Scott