February 6, 2015

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – After stumbling out of the gate in the first game of a new season in a new league, the Bloomington Flex find themselves back in a familiar place: in first place, albeit, by way of a tiebreaker.

                    And the Flex’s new head coach, Carlnel Wiley, Jr., doesn’t want to lose that position heading when the postseason rolls around.  But first, they have to take on the Chicago Force (2-4) Sunday at Kroc Center.

                    “I was disappointed we dropped that first game,” Wiley said.  “We had some unfamiliarity amongst ourselves, some nervousness heading into a new league, and the expectations of a two-year winning streak on our shoulders, and we just didn’t get it done.  I didn’t like how that felt, and I know our veterans didn’t, and they’ve stepped up to get us to where we are now.”

                    Where they are now is in the midst of a more modest winning streak, five, and a tiebreak ahead of the Champaign Swarm for the top spot in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association.  After that opening-night four-point loss to St. Louis, no team has gotten to within nine points of the Flex.  Bloomington has been off since routing the Swarm 102-81 in Champaign on January 29.

                    “But we’re not resting,” Wiley said.  “We’ve had some big wins, but when you’re on top, the other teams will be gunning for you.  They’re making roster moves to compete with us, and we have to be ready.”

                    The Force, meanwhile, should be ready for the pressure if the game is close late.  Three of their last four games have been decided by three points or less.  Most Valuable Player candidate Derrick McDonald leads Chicago in scoring at 24.3 points per game, which is good for third in the league behind the Flex’s Justin Bocot (27.2) and Windy City’s Darrin Johnson (26.0).  McDonald leads the MPBA in three of four rebounding categories—rebounds per game (12.8), total rebounds (77), and offensive rebounds (39).

                    Helping out Bocot on the offensive end for the Flex are Fabyon Harris (16.3 ppg), C.J. Hampton (15.3), and Anthony Slack (15.0).  Slack leads the Flex in rebounding with an 8.8 per-game average, and is second in the MPBA in blocked shots with 14.

                    Fans can watch the game live and in high definition free of charge on the MPBA website.  Pregame coverage starts at 2:50 p.m.