By Dave Loveton
Director of Media Relations
dave@losangeleslightning.net
Game 16 – Gary
Steelheads 109, L.A. Lightning 92
Friday, June 13, 2008
________________________________________
Lightning
can’t keep up with Gary
Steelheads ride big 2nd quarter to 109-92 win
GARY, Ind. – Former L.A. Clipper Keith Closs scored 19 points,
grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots in his L.A. Lightning debut on
Friday but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 109-92 loss to the Gary Steelheads.
Closs, a 7-foot-3 center, had 12 points and
six rebounds in the opening quarter of the IBL basketball game at the Genesis Center. His two free throws at the 2:41 mark gave L.A. its last lead at 21-20.
Gary (16-4) outshot the visitors 60 to 33 percent in the
second period of a physical game and outscored them 29-15 to take a 58-43
halftime lead.
L.A. trailed by 21 early in the final period before
pulling to within 14 (93-79) with a 9-2 run that featured seven points by
newcomer A.J. Diggs. Following a timeout, the Steelheads scored six of the next
seven points to boost the lead back to 19.
Gary won the shooting
battle 48.3 to 39 percent and outrebounded L.A. by 21 (62-41), including 21-11 at the offensive end.
Fred Vinson scored 18 points and Greg Minor
had 11 for the Lightning (7-9), which played its second straight game without
Lamond Murray and Toby Bailey. Murray is the IBL’s fourth-leading scorer (26.5) and top
rebounder (12.2) while Bailey averages 19.4 points. Center Ronell Mingo picked
up three first-half fouls and tallied 11 points and eight rebounds before
fouling out with five minutes to play.
Benson Callier scored 25 points with eight
rebounds for the Steelheads, who won for the seventh time in eight games. Royce
Parran added 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Gary has the
second-best record in the East Conference, behind the two-time defending IBL
champion Elkhart (Ind.) Express (17-1). The Lightning (7-9) play at Elkhart on Saturday night before completing its four-game road trip at Battle Creek, Mich., on Sunday.
