FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2015
Contact:   Craig Fata, Vice President
(844) THE-MPBA / craig.fata@theMPBA.com

ST. LOUIS – All six Midwest Professional Basketball Association teams will be in action Thursday night, the first of six tripleheaders on the schedule for the 2015 MPBA season. 

                    In Bloomington, the Flex have a chance to avenge a season-opening 113-109 loss to the St. Louis RiverSharks, as the two teams tangle at U. S. Cellular Coliseum at 7:05 p.m.  The loss ended the Flex’s 24-game win streak that had dated back to May of 2013. 

                    “It was frustrating because even though we missed 20 free throws during the game, we still had a chance to win it at the end,” said Flex coach Carlnel Wiley.  “Credit to St. Louis because they’re a good team, but we could have had that one.”

                    The Flex got to within one point at 110-109 with a minute to play on a free throw by Justin Bocot, but could not get any closer.  Bocot scored 30 points in that contest, the first of two back-to-back 30-point outbursts for the Bloomington High School product.  Bocot leads the league in scoring at 30.0 per game.

                    Brandon Hogg leads the RiverSharks (3-1) at 22.8 points per game, while leading rebounder Keith DeWitt (8.2 per game) scored 30 in their season opener on Jan. 2.  St. Louis lost its first game of the season Sunday at Champaign, so Wiley expects them to hungry to return to the win column.

                    Speaking of Champaign, the Swarm (1-0) host their second of four straight home contests, welcoming in the Gateway Steam (1-3).  That game tips at 7:30 p.m. at the Dodds Athletic Center at Parkland College.

                    The Swarm won their inaugural season opener on Sunday, handing St. Louis a 113-100 defeat. At 1-3, the Steam have struggled early, with their last decision a 122-83 loss at Bloomington. 

                    Champaign's defense hopes to continue agitating opponents. It pestered St. Louis constantly on Sunday and produced 12 steals, holding the RiverSharks to just two field goals in the second quarter.

Six Swarm players scored in double figures on Sunday, capped by Arnold Louis' double-double -- 26 points and 18 rebounds.

                    Gateway is led by guards Darion (Jake) Anderson (13.5 ppg) and Jonathan Miller, who is shooting at a .548 clip.

                    Perhaps the most exciting game of the night will be the “Crosstown Showdown,” as the Windy City Groove and Chicago Force are set to clash for the first time at the Kroc Center on the city’s west side at 7:05 p.m.

                    The Groove won their franchise inaugural and home opener against the Gateway Steam, 92-91 last Saturday on a fall-away 10-foot jumper by Shedrick Haynes.  Veteran guard Nate Fuqua scored 16 points for Windy City, including a couple key baseline shots in the last three minutes to keep the Groove within striking distance.  Center Sam Morgan added 13 points and four blocks.

                    Despite an 0-2 start, the Force show that their offense is one to be reckoned with.  Derrick McDonald leads the team at 20.5 points per game, with guard Tremell Adams not far behind at 18.5 points per game.  Jason Warren, who signed with the Force just before their second game, put up 18 points in his first game with the team. 

                    Antoine Ware leads the team in rebounding at 11.0 per game to go along with his 11.0 points per game, one of two Force players averaging a double-double (McDonald, 18.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg).  Darius Smith from the University of Connecticut averages 12.5 points and 4.0 steals a contest.

                    The coaches in the Crosstown Showdown should prove just as exciting a matchup.  Force coach Rick Pryor has been a head coach at both the college and pro levels, known as a stickler for the fundamentals.  Groove coach James Fleming, however, is not as well-known for what he teaches, but whom he’s taught.  Fleming, as a summer, rec, and AAU coach with more than thirty years of experience under his belt in Chicago gyms, has tutored such basketball luminaries as Glen Robinson, Juwan Howard, Michael Findley, Antoine Walker, Chris Webber and Kevin Garnett.

                    All of the games on Thursday and all season long can be streamed live and in high definition on the league’s website by clicking on the individual game in the schedule bar on the front page of the league’s website, www.theMPBA.com.

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