By Dave Loveton
Director of Media Relations

dave@losangeleslightning.net

Game 18 – Battle Creek Knights 104, L.A. Lightning 99

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Knights rally late to beat Lightning

 L.A. gets 25 from Minor but still goes 0-4 on trip

 BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – The long and winding road through the Midwest ended on a sour note Sunday as the Battle Creek Knights closed with an 8-2 run to edge the L.A. Lightning 104-99 in an IBL basketball game.

 Greg Minor tossed in 6-of-13 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 25 points for the Lightning (7-11) but it wasn’t enough to prevent the fourth loss in five days. Five of the L.A. players also competed in the All-Star Game on Thursday in Gary, Ind., which means they were playing their fifth game in five nights.

 Wayne Oliver added 17 points and Ronell Mingo finished with 16 points and five boards despite playing only 18 minutes due to foul trouble. Point guard Kamran Sufi had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.

 The game was tight for three quarters before the Knights opened the fourth on an 8-2 run that gave them their biggest lead, 89-81. The Lightning stormed back with a 9-2 burst. Minor scored the first seven in that run on four free throws and a bucket from downtown.

 L.A. regained the lead with 2:01 remaining on a trey by Sufi to beat the shot clock and two free throws by Mingo that made it 97-96. The Knights responded with a layup by Rashi Johnson and a 3-pointer by Kendrick Cornelius to go back up by four.

The Lightning had a chance to win despite being outrebounded for the third straight game (48-33) and commiting nine more turnovers than assists (23-14). L.A. had seven turnovers in the last quarter, including three on shot-clock violations.

 Ed McCants collected 22 points and eight rebounds while Bobby Madison had 18 points, 11 boards and six assists for Battle Creek (8-9), which snapped a four-game losing streak.

 The Lightning will complete their home schedule at Cal Lutheran on June 20-21 against the Arizona Flame. On June 27-29, L.A. will travel to Snohomish County, Wash., for the IBL West playoffs.