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 The Austin Toros defeated the Idaho Stampede 95-89 tonight in Game One of the best-of-three 2008 NBA Development League Finals presented by Delta, at the Austin Convention Center.
The Toros brought the 2299 fans out of their seats in the opening 20 seconds of the contest when Josh Gross put the exclamation point on an Andre Barrett pass. The alley-oop dunk gave the Toros a 2-0 lead, their lone advantage until six minutes remained in the half. Both teams hit on only one of their first five field goal attempts, until Idaho’s Roberto Bergersen who connected on just 4 of 16 shots in the Stampede semi-final game victory over the L.A. D-Fenders, started to heat up. The former Boise State standout hit three first quarter triples leading the Stampede to a 26-14 lead after the first 12 minutes of the game. “We came out of the gate rushing at first and Idaho was able to build a large lead,†said Austin’s Justin Bowen. “We were getting back fast instead of running our offense. In the second stanza, Bergersen went cold, throwing an airball on his first triple try of the quarter and then missing another three, two minutes later. But, while Bergersen couldn’t find his stroke, Austin’s Josh Gross caught fire. The 6-5 forward from UNC – Greensboro hit a pair of threes in just over a one minute span; the second from straight away pulling Austin to within one point, 30-29. Midway through the second quarter Austin found its stride. Andre Barrett who spent four seasons in the NBA, knifed through the lane and got the off-balance lefty layup to drop. Bowen who led all scorers with 25 points, then stole the inbounds pass, slid the ball to Ian Mahinmi, who threw it down with authority making the score 35-34. “It got our momentum going because we were picking up full court,†said Andre Barrett. “It got the crowd up.†The sequence gave the Toros its first lead since 2-0. At the break Idaho led by two points, 44-42. Bergersen led the Stampede with 11 points, while Gross and Bowen, who came off the bench, led the home team with ten apiece. Idaho came out of the locker room cold, hitting just five of 18 shots from the floor in the third quarter. And while the Stampede weren’t hitting their shots (17.6% on three point field goals through three quarters), the Toros ended the quarter with a pair of three pointers by hometown basketball hero Kenton Paulino who attended nearby University of Texas and Carldell “Squeaky†Johnson who connected with 48 seconds left making the score 68-59. “I think the turning point of the game was when K.P. (Kenton Paulino) and Squeak (Carldell Johnson) made those big shots,†said Barrett. Paulino hit a three to begin the final quarter and when Bowen connected on a left side jumper with 10:36 left, the Toros had extended their lead to 73-61, their largest of the game to that point. Austin’s lead hovered in double digits for most of the quarter but Cory Violette’s 20th point, a left side jumper drew the visitors to within seven points with five and a half minutes to play. Johnson starred late in fourth quarter with a driving layup right through the teeth of the Stampede defense with 5:09 left; a right side jumper with 2:37 remaining, and a 12 foot jumper with 1:10 left which put the game on ice. The final score was Austin 95 – Idaho 89. Bowen led the way with 25 points, while Darvin Ham, who was a member of the 2004 NBA champion Detroit Pistons, tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds. Violette led the Stampede with 20 points. “It’s big – we’re going to their house, so the pressure is on them at home,†said Barrett. “For us this win at home was really big. To go and play away and all you have to do is win one game, that works in our odds.†The series moves to Boise, Idaho for Game Two which can be seen Thursday at 9:30 pm ET on NBA Futurecast (nba.com/futurecast) and NBA TV. “It’s going to be the hardest game of the series,†said Bowen. “Idaho is a great team and they have good chemistry.†If a third game is necessary it will played on Friday also at 9:30 pm ET, and can be seen on NBA Futurecast and NBA TV. Source: NBA Development League
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