KIEFER Ravena drained the game-winning freebies with 18 seconds left as the Shiga Lakestars finally halted their 16-game losing streak with a 79-78 nipping of Osaka Evessa Saturday in the 2021-22 B.League season at Ukaruchan Arena.
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Ravena fished a foul from Hiromu Nakamura and calmly sank both of his charities as the Lakestars earned their first win in nearly two months.
It was the first victory for Shiga after its 104-100 thriller over San-En NeoPhoenix last Feb. 26.
Osaka still had a chance to steal the game, but Makoto Kinoshita's jumper went awry in the endgame.
Ravena's game-winning free throws more than made up for his 4-of-11 field goal shooting as he ended up with 13 points, 11 assists, and three rebounds for Shiga, which climbed up to an 11-33 win-loss card.
Novar Gadson led the Lakestars with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Teppei Kashiwagura drained all of his four triples for his 16 points, and Sean O'Mara had 15 points, nine boards, and two steals.
Kinoshita paced Osaka (20-25) with 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep, alongside seven assists off the bench, but the Evessa fell to their second straight defeat.
The two teams face off anew on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Thirdy Ravena and Dwight Ramos missed the latest faceoff between their teams as the Toyama Grouses nailed the 92-80 win over the San-En NeoPhoenix at Toyohashi City Gymnasium.
Former TNT import Joshua Smith bullied his way to 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Brice Johnson had 21 points, seven boards, four assists, and two steals.
Toyama extended its win streak to three to climb up to 19-29, while the undermanned San-En bowed to its seventh straight defeat to fall to 8-38.
Max Hisatake paced the NeoPhoenix with 18 points and six rebounds, while Elias Harris chimed in 17 points, nine boards, and six assists as he remained as the lone reinforcement for the home team.
Ravena was under the weather but still accompanied the NeoPhoenix in the home game.
On the other hand, Ramos missed his third straight game for the Grouses. Curiously, one player remains under quarantine for Toyama after testing positive for COVID-19.
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