DWIGHT Ramos erupted for 16 points in the fourth quarter to steer the Toyama Grouses to a 99-91 come-from-behind victory over the Akita Northern Happinets Saturday in the 2021-22 B.League season at Toyama City Gymnasium.
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The Filipino guard completed the job for the home team as Toyama fought back from a 15-point third quarter hole and sealed the deal with a 29-point fourth period assault.
Ramos powered the Grouses with 22 points on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown, to go with five steals, three rebounds, and one assist as he thrived on his new off the bench role.
Brice Johnson paced Toyama with a double-double of 22 points and 14 boards, while Julian Mavunga redeemed himself with his 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Naoki Uto chimed in 14 points, nine dimes, and two boards to make up for his five miscues, as Joshua Smith just missed out on a double-double with his 10 points and nine rebounds in the victory, which was the second straight for the Grouses to improve to a 10-17 win-loss record.
It was an impressive turnaround for Toyama which dug itself back from a 58-43 deficit to grab a 70-69 lead heading into the final canto.
Jordan Glynn still tried to mount a late fightback for the Northern Happinets, cutting the lead down to seven, 96-89 in the last 31 seconds, but charities from Ramos and Uto iced the game for good for the Grouses.
Glynn carried Akita with 19 points and five rebounds, while Noboru Hasegawa got 19 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting as it saw its three-game win streak snapped.
Takatoshi Furukawa chipped in 15 points and three assists, and Alex Davis came off the bench and poured 12 points and seven boards in the loss.
The two teams collide anew on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Kumamoto Volters sent the Aomori Wat's to their 11th straight defeat with a 106-67 beatdown at Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
LJ Peak powered the home team with 32 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep, to go with six assists and three boards off the bench to help Kumamoto rise to a 17-12 card.
Jordan Hamilton chimed in 17 points, seven boards, and five assists, Takaaki Kida got 14 points and three rebounds, and Hiroaki Isono scored 12 in the 39-point blowout.
Hayate Komasawa and Keijiro Monma led Aomori (2-27) with 16 points apiece, as Kiichi Kikuyama got 10.
Kemark Carino played for six minutes and nabbed three points, two rebounds, and two steals in the losing effort.
On the other hand, Juan Gomez de Liano remained deactivated for Earthfriends Tokyo Z as they suffered a 92-70 beating at the hands of Sendai 89ers at Aoba Gymnasium.
Devin Oliver almost got a triple-double in the victory with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists to push Sendai up to a 19-10 record.
Taiki Okada scored 14 points built on four triples, while Justin Burrell had 13 points, five boards, five dimes, two steals, and two blocks for the 36ers.
Joshua Crawford championed Tokyo Z's cause with 28 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and two steals, but the Earthfriends stumbled to their sixth straight loss.
Mark Burton added 16 points, four assists, and two steals as they fell to a 5-24 standing.
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