Red-hot RiverSharks top Flex
Three 'Sharks score 20 or better, end Flex streak at 9
February 26, 2015
ST CHARLES, Missouri. – The St. Louis RiverSharks used three players scoring 20 points or better to end another Bloomington Flex winning streak at Family Arena, upending the first-place Flex 115-101. The Flex (9-2) maintain a percentage-point lead in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association standings over the RiverSharks (8-2) and Champaign Swarm (9-3), who defeated the Chicago Force tonight in Champaign.
The Flex led after a back-and-forth first quarter, 23-22, but St. Louis, on the strength of the outside shooting of Jerrold Brooks and Brandon Hogg, took a 10-point lead in the second quarter with 3:12 remaining, and finished the half up 52-44.
Bloomington then opened the third quarter on a 9-3 run to tie the score at 55 before taking their first lead at 57-55 on a Brad Carroll jumper with 7:22 to play in the period. The Flex took their final lead at 61-60, but then a 30-16 run to close out the third by the RiverSharks proved an insurmountable obstacle.
After trailing by as many as 15 points early in the fourth, the Flex pulled to within nine with 8:25 to play in the game on a dunk by Justin Bocot. The RiverSharks, however, took control down the stretch, with Marcus Goode and Keith DeWitt making it difficult for the Flex to get anything underneath the basket.
Bloomington’s C.J. Hampton led all scorers with 30 points. Bocot had a season-low 16, while Matt Salley tallied another double-double, with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Anthony Slack scored 14 and pulled down 11 boards.
Hogg led the RiverSharks with 29 points. Brooks added 27 on the strength of his 6-of-12 shooting performance from three-point range. DeWitt added 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Goode tallied 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
The Flex are next in action next Friday, March 6 as they host the Chicago Force at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. St. Louis plays Saturday in Chicago against the Windy City Groove.