By LEE HILLER, Journal Sports
Shreveport entered Thursday’s titanic The Basketball League game with Potawatomi with three losses in 18 games, all to the Fire and all because of disastrous third quarters.
The Mavericks changed all that Thursday night at the Gold Dome in a 121-113 win and moved a half-game ahead of the Fire in the Central standings with a 16-3 mark.
Shreveport trailed at the half 57-56 after leading for most of it. The Mavericks opened a 34-25 advantage after the first quarter. But coming out of halftime, the Mavericks reversed their trend of bad third quarters against the Fire and outscored the visitors 29-22 to take a 85-79 lead into the final quarter.
The Mavericks got double-digit scoring from five of the eight that scored in the game with Kadavion Evans leading the way with 31 points. Paul Parks tossed in 23, while Jay Hedgeman contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Floor general PJ Meyers had 15 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds and Tyrone Jordan scored 17.
In the tightly-contested game, Shreveport’s biggest lead was 11 in the first quarter (34-23) and Potawatomi scored the first three points of the second half for its biggest lead at 60-56. The visitors only led for 4:05 of the game. The Mavericks forced 19 turnovers and outscored the Fire 27-14 off turnovers.
Lyle Hexom led Potawatomi (15-3) with 28 points. Deshawn Munson had 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Chuck Guy added 16 points and 10 assists.
Shreveport will be back in the Dome Saturday when it hosts the Little Rock Lightning at 7:05 p.m.
