SHIGA swept its Christmas weekend schedule with a 90-77 victory over Niigata on Sunday in the Japan B.League at Ukaruchan Arena.
Kiefer Ravena dished out 10 assists and had eight points and two rebounds as the Lakestars pulled away with a 26-point eruption in the fourth quarter to repeat over Niigata after a 78-59 triumph on Saturday.
Ovie Soko topped the Lakestars with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Teppei Kashiwagura drained three of his four treys in the final period, finishing with 15 points.
Shiga led,66-62, early in the payoff period when it staged an 8-0 run capped off by two consecutive treys from Kashiwagura to stretch the lead to 12, 74-62, with 6:50 remaining.
Novar Gadson added 15 points, three boards, and three dimes, as Shotaro Hayashi got 10 to help the Lakestars win back-to-back games and rise to a 9-14 card.
Zen Endo topped the cellar-dwelling Niigata with 25 points as it suffered its 20th straight defeat for a 2-21 slate.
Jeff Ayres had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists before fouling out with 24.2 seconds left, while Shun Watanuki had 14 points, 11 boards, and five dimes in the Albirex defeat.
Filipino high-flyer Kobe Paras, meanwhile, was benched in the contest.
Shiga goes on the road to face the Hiroshima Dragonflies at Hiroshima Sun Plaza on Wednesday to end the year, while Niigata caps off its 2021 at home against the Yokohama B-Corsairs at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka.
Saga overpowers Aomori BLeague again
In second division action, Saga Ballooners routed Aomori Wat's again, scoring a 57-point demolition, 93-36, at Maeda Arena.
Reynaldo Garcia poured 29 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals as Saga repeated over Aomori after a 64-40 win on Saturday.
Myles Hesson added 17 points, 13 boards, five assists, and two steals, while Taiga Jack Komamizu got 14 points and four rebounds off the bench as the Ballooners held the Wat's to just two points in the third frame to grab a 69-26 lead and further inflated that spread to as high as 60 points.
Saga claimed its fifth straight win to move up to 13-12, while sending Aomori to its seventh straight loss. Aomori is in the bottom of the standings at 2-23.
Hayate Komasawa led the Wat's with seven points as no player made it to double figures.
Kemark Carino was the only one to go scoreless for the Wat's as he missed his lone shot, but grabbed a rebound and a steal in his five minutes of play.
Aomori will attempt to end this skid on Wednesday when they end the year on the road against the Yamagata Wyverns at Nanyo Civic Gymnasium.
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