Author: Charlie O. Mallonee

I have been a sports reporter/broadcaster since 1976 which means ... I'm old and I love sports. I have done play-by-play for minor league baseball - including the infamous "Bad News Bees" - San Jose State football and football and high school sports in the Bay Area and on the Monterey Peninsula. I had the great privilege to host a weekly sports talk show on KNRY Radio Monterey/Salinas with my producer the late,great Gary Araki. I also hosted and produced "the Sports Fanatics" talk show on KSAC Radio in Sacramento. For the last 10 years, I have been a beat reporter covering the Oakland Athletics for Sports Radio Service. Three years ago, I became the senior reporter for our Sacramento Kings coverage. My goal is to bring you the news, views, fun and excitement of every event I am assigned to report on for Sports Radio Service.

Kings win game one on the road beating Brooklyn 122-105

Published on November 27, 2016November 27, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

NBA: Sacramento Kings at Brooklyn Nets — Photo USA Today Sports

The road is a harsh place in the NBA

The chances of a road team winning a game in the NBA stand at approximately 40-percent. That means the odds are against you before you ever start the game.

The Sacramento Kings kicked off a six-game road trip in Brooklyn on Sunday night against the Nets. The Nets came into the game having lost six consecutive games and were desperate for a win. Sacramento knew this was a team they could beat and needed to defeat to make it a successful start to the road trip.

The Kings (7-10) met their goal by soundly defeating the Nets 122-105 to start the long road trip on a positive note.

The Nets opened the game with fast and furious play

Brooklyn plays fast as team normally, but they opened this game with a sense of urgency wanting to end their losing streak and feeling like the Kings were a team they could beat on their home court.

The Nets decided to use the Rockets philosophy and started shooting as many 3-pointers as possible against the Kings. The concept worked momentarily as Brooklyn opened up a nine point lead shooting 5-for-10 from long range, but the Kings got organized on offense scoring with high percentage shots in the paint. At the end of the first quarter, the Kings had cut the Nets lead to four points – 35 to 31.

The Sacramento second unit slowed the Nets down in the second quarter

The Kings second unit led by Matt Barnes and Garrett Temple slowed the Nets down by increasing the defensive pressure and continued to cut into the Brooklyn lead using high percentage shots in the paint. Sacramento tied the game up with 8:52 to in the first half, and then they took the lead.

The Nets took the lead back before the end of the half, but they were not able to reestablish the fiery pace of the first quarter. Also, the Kings continued to score. DeMarcus Cousins hit a 25-foot bank shot for 3-points near the end of period. At the end of the 12-minutes, Sacramento had won the quarter 27-24. Brooklyn went to halftime with a 59-58 lead over the Kings.

Sacramento Kings v Brooklyn Nets — Photo NBAE

In the third quarter the Sacramento Express rolled into Brooklyn

The Kings have been a strong second-half team in general this season. On Sunday night in Brooklyn, they found a whole new running gear thanks to their star center. Cousins took charge of the game scoring 18 points in the quarter, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor including hitting 2-of-2 from 3-point range. He went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals in the period. Cousins did in 12-minutes what a majority of players would love to do in an entire game.

Rudy Gay added five points and two assists. Darren Collison scored five points and had one assist. Matt Barnes put up three points and dished out three assists in just 5:30 on the floor.

By the end of the quarter, the Kings had outscored the Nets 34-18 in the period and had a 92-77 lead in the game.

The one negative of the quarter was that DeMarcus Cousins picked up a technical foul for hitting Luis Scola in the face under basket while trying to make a layup. Cousins then went to the line to shoot two free throws because Scola fouled him in the act of shooting. It is Cousins fourth technical of the season.

The fourth quarter should have been an easy one for Sacramento but is wasn’t

Everything started off the Kings in fourth quarter just the way they wanted things to go. It looked like it would be a forgettable 12-minutes and Sacramento could move on to Washington, D.C. for the game on Monday night.

Then at the 9:35 mark of the fourth quarter, Sean Kilpatrick of the Nets drove to the basket for a layup. Matt Barnes of the Kings ran in from the angle to cut him off and there was heavy contact. Replay revealed that Barnes’ left arm made contact with Kilpatrick’s face. The officials went to review the video and everyone knew Barnes was going to be issued a flagrant one foul. Instead, the referees called it a flagrant two foul and Barnes was ejected from the game. (Let me just say that Barnes previous reputation as a tough guy may have come into play in the call – imho).

The ejection changed the momentum of the game and the Nets promptly went on a 16-2 run and cut the Kings lead down to 99-93.

Rudy Gay hit a 19-foot jumper with 6:29 to go in the game which kicked off a 14-0 run by the Kings. That run killed any hope the Nets had of coming back in the game.

Sacramento won the game by the final score of 122-105.

Sacramento leaders

DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 37 points and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds
Rudy Gay had a big game with 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds
Darren Collison scored 18 points
Ty Lawson scored 13 points coming off the bench for the Kings
Omri Casspi played again for the Kings putting up eight point and grabbing five rebounds. He was 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
Everyone on the Sacramento bench except Anthony Tolliver – that includes Ben McLemore and Willie Cauley-Stein- played in the game

Brooklyn’s top producers

Guard Sean Kilpatrick was the Nets leading scorer with 22 points. He went 8-for-13 shooting including three 3-point baskets
Brook Lopez put up 17 points and hauled in seven rebounds while battling with DeMarcus Cousins all night
Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 points for Brooklyn
Justin Hamilton was the Nets rebounding leader with 10

Key stat of the game

Points in the paint: Kings 50 Nets 36 – this is where the game was won

Up next on the schedule

The Nets game was the first game of a back-to-back set on the road for the Kings. Sacramento will play on Monday night in Washington, D.C. The Wizards are 5-10 on the season and are coming off a loss to San Antonio. The Kings did play the Wizards in the preseason at Rupp Arena on the campus of the University of Kentucky.

The Nets will try to end their seven-game losing streak on Tuesday night when they host the 14-4 Los Angeles Clippers.

Sac State Hornets fall to Denver Pioneers 72-61 on Sunday

Published on November 27, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento State men’s basketball team (1-5) lost the second game of the Eastern Washington University Tournament on Sunday to the University of Denver 72-61. The Hornets finished 0-2 for the tourney.

The game was tied at 61-61 with with 3:05 to play. Denver went on an 11-0 run that lasted until the final final buzzer and the Pioneers walked away the 72-61 win to finish 1-1 in the tournament.

Too many 3’s and too many offensive rebounds

Denver (2-5) used the 3-point basket to its advantage in the game. The Pioneers went 7-for-20 (35-percent) from long range. The Pioneers hit five of those 3-point baskets in the second half. Sacramento went 2-for-11 from behind the line but had no 3-point field goals in the second half.

Denver also outrebounded the Hornets 40-32. Of those 40 Denver rebounds, 17 were offensive rebounds that resulted in 19 second-chance points. The Hornets had five offensive boards and six second-chance points.

Sacramento State led at the half

The Hornets had a strong opening half in the game. They did not shoot for a high percentage (40-percent), but the Hornets were able to take the lead and keep it the entire half. Sac State was able to keep Denver off-balance as the Pioneers shot just 32.3-percent in the first half. At the break, the Hornets were up 31-25 over their opponents.

Marcus Graves led the scoring attack for the Hornets

Junior guard Marcus Graves was the leading scorer for the Hornets. He put up 16 going 6-for-11 from the floor and hitting 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He also played a game-high 36 minutes for the Hornets.

Justin Strings scored 13 points and was the leading Sacramento State rebounder with eight. Nick Hornsby was the other Hornet to score in double figures adding 10 points.

Denver’s leading scorers were Daniel Amigo and Jake Pemberton who scored 17 points each in the game. Amigo posted a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Pemberton went 4-for-6 from 3-point land.

Back on the road again

The Hornets will head out on the road again this week and travel to Stockton to face the Pacific Tigers who are currently 2-2 on the season. The Tigers travel to Reno to play a respectable Nevada team before returning home to host the Hornets.

Capital City College Report: Aggies & Hornets lose in tournament games on Saturday

Published on November 27, 2016November 27, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

uc-davis-11-26-16 — UC Davis vs Oakland GCI Great Alaska Shootout

UC Davis completes its Alaska adventure

The Aggies lost their final game of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies of Michigan 79-66 on Saturday. The loss dropped the Aggies into sixth place in the tournament with a 1-2 record.

“I told the team that I was pleased overall with their effort, and I’m encouraged, not discouraged, by this tournament and where they are thus far.” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les , “This team has a huge ceiling, I love everyone’s competitive nature.”

Oakland’s 3-point shooting did the Aggies in

The Golden Grizzlies shot 41.7-percent (10-for-24) from 3-point range. They hit seven of those 3-pointers in the first half. The Aggies hit 4-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line. Both teams hit 25 two-point field goals.

Oakland also outscored UC Davis at the free throw line. The Golden Grizzlies scored 19 points from the charity stripe while the Aggies added just 12 points from the free throw line.

Oakland had four players in double figures; UC Davis had three in double digits

Chima Moneke of UC Davis led all scorer with 21 points
Mikey Henn had 11 points for the Aggies coming off the bench
Siler Schneider added 10 points bench points for UC Davis
Stevie Clark was the leading scorer for the Golden Grizzlies with 19 points
Martez Walker scored 16 points with four field goals, four 3-pointers and 4 free throws
Nick Daniels supplied Oakland with 12 points
Isaiah Brock added 10 points to the Golden Grizzlies total

“That is a good basketball team (Oakland) that is going to win 20 to 25 games, win their league (Horizon) and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. I told my team that we went toe-to-toe with them; we have some things that we need to clean up, but I like where this team is as long as we stay healthy and continue to work,” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les.

What’s next for UC Davis

The Aggies will return to action on Saturday, December 3rd when they will travel to Moscow, Idaho to play the 3-2 Idaho Vandals.

Sacramento State loses EWU Tourney opener to USF

The Sacramento State Hornets lost their opening game in the Eastern Washington University Tournament to the University of San Francisco Dons 77-59 on Saturday. The win lifted the Dons to 4-0 on the season while the Hornets drop to 1-4.

The Dons had four players score in double figures

Chase Foster scored a career high 18 points in 23 of playing time to lead the USF scoring attack
Marquill Smith put up 12 points in eight minutes and was a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point land and 6-for-6 from the free throw line
Nate Renfro and Jordan Ratinho added 10 points each
The Dons shot 54.7-percent from the floor and 50-percent (11-for-22) from long distance
USF led this game wire-to-wire

Nick Hornsby led the Hornets attack

Forward Nick Hornsby put up 20 points and grabbed 9 points in 34 minutes of playing time
Justin Strings was the other Hornet who scored in double figures recording 18 points
Sacramento State struggled shooting in the first half going 10-for-30 (33.3-percent) from the field
It was the Hornets 3-point shooting – 7-of-17 (41.2-percent) – that kept them close in the half
The Hornets shot 42.8-percent in the second half but that was not enough of an improvement to catch the Dons
Sac State also hurt themselves at the free throw line by going just 8-for-15 (53.3-percent) from the stripe

The Hornets have no time to rest as they are back in action on Sunday

The Hornets will face the University of Denver Pioneers (1-3) on Sunday at 12:05 PM PST. The Pioneers lost to Eastern Washington on Saturday night 85-80 in overtime.

Informantion from the sports information departments of UC Davis and Sacramento State contributed to this report

Rockets beat the Kings 117-104 in a record setting shootout

Published on November 26, 2016November 26, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Houston Rockets v Sacramento Kings — Harden has a triple-double versus the Kings (Rocky Widner/NBAE)

The homestand ends on a down note

SACRAMENTO- –The Kings closed out a five-game homestand on Friday with a loss to the Houston Rockets 117-104. Looking at the final score you might assume that it was a boring, blowout of a game. You would be wrong.

The game started off very one-sided and then Sacramento realized what was happening. The Kings began to put forth a complete effort as a team and fought their way back into contention.

Late in the fourth quarter, the outcome of this game was really in doubt.

The hole the Kings dug early was just too deep

“Tough battle for tonight. We didn’t come out with enough force early. They’re a good team after a loss.Them coming off a loss – they were very focused … We (Kings) came in too slow,” said Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger after the game.

The Rockets grabbed the lead when Clint Capela sank a six-foot hook shot for the first score of the game. Houston would never trail in the game. In fact, the Rockets would build a 19-point lead after the first 12-minutes of play. When the first quarter was in the score book, Houston held a 38-19 lead over the Kings.

Trevor Ariza scored 12 points in the period hitting four 3-point shots
The Rockets made eight 3-point baskets in the quarter off 17 attempts
Houston shot 52.0-percent (13-for-25) from the floor
They outrebounded the Kings 18-6
The only downside for the Rockets was the fact that James Harden shot 0-for-5 from the field in the quarter and was held to three points – all from the free throw line

The Kings could have easily backed off and mailed it in for the rest of the game. They did not take that option.

The Kings came to life in the second quarter

The Rockets (10-6) stayed hot in second quarter. They shot 55.6-percent 10-for-18) from the floor and 6-for-11 (54.5-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. As a team, Houston scored 30 points in the period.

Sacramento shot 61.1-percent (11-for-18) from the field and 2-for-6 (33.3-percent) from 3-point land. They also went 7-of-8 (87.5-percent) from the free throw line. The Kings outscored the Rockets 31-30 in the quarter.

The other amazing thing happening in the quarter was the return of Omri Casspi to the floor for the Kings. The Kings forward had become the forgotten man at the end of the bench. Casspi played the entire 12-minutes scoring 4 points, grabbing two rebounds and dishing out two assists. Casspi would have more to contribute later in the game.

“It (playing Casspi) gave us an ability to play similar size guys. It’s a quicker game where we wanted to make them pay. I thought we were very poor in the first seven-eight minutes of playing to the second side of the court – getting some movement, getting some cutting and I think that’s definitely his game. He’s done his work. He’s stayed healthy. I think it’s going to work out for him,” said Kings coach Dave Joerger.

At the half, the Rockets led the Kings 68-50.

The third quarter was not a thing of beauty

Both teams struggled coming out of halftime. The Rockets shot a horrible 33.3-percent (7-for-21) from the field and a very poor 27.3-percent (3-of-11) from beyond the 3-point arc. The one bright spot was forward Ryan Anderson came alive hitting two 3-point buckets and two free throws to be his team’s leading scorer in the quarter with eight points.

The Kings overall shooting percentage was better at 45.5-percent (10-for-22) but their 3-point production was a terrible 1-for-11 (11.1-percent). Sacramento did manage to outscore Houston 24-22 in the third. After three quarters, Houston led the game 90-74.

The biggest problem for the Kings in the third quarter was the fact DeMarcus Cousins picked up two personal fouls and was working with a total of four personals in the game. That meant he had to go to the bench and spend the last 5:21 of the period on “the pine”.

The fourth and deciding quarter was both exciting and painful

The Rockets quickly made it a 16 lead as the quarter began and things began to look very dim for the Kings especially with Cousins on the bench. However, Sacramento was able to cut the Rockets lead down to 10 points with 7:45 left in the game but Houston quickly built it back to a 13 point cushion.

With 7:19 remaining, DeMarcus Cousins and his four personal fouls reentered the game. The problem was Harden had suddenly come to life for Houston and they pushed the lead back up to 16 points.

Cousins tried to single-handedly take over the game and will the Kings back into contention. He hit four 3-points baskets over a two-minute period and cut the Houston lead to just eight points, but that was as close as the Kings would come to the lead.

Houston scored the final five points of the game and came away the victory 117-104 over the Kings (6-10).

Some NBA and career records were set in this game

Houston set a NBA record for 3-point field goal attempts with 50 tries from behind the arc in the contest
The Rockets connected on 21 of those 3-point attempts which was a season-high for them
DeMarcus Cousins went 5-for-9 from 3-point range which set a career high for him for 3 point field goals made

Other important numbers you need to know

DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 32 points
The Rockets James Harden recorded a triple-double: 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists
Houston’s Trevor Ariza scored 18 points all coming from his six 3-point baskets
El Dorado Hills product Ryan Anderson scored 13 points and dished out four assists before family and friends at the arena
Matt Barnes and Ty Lawson each score 12 points for the Kings
Garrett Temple scored 10 points for Sacramento coming off the bench and shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor
Omri Casspi scored seven points, had five assists and hauled in four rebounds in his 28-minutes playing time in a triumphal return to the rotation for the Kings
The Kings had five players score in double-figures while the Rockets had seven players score in double-digits
Sacramento finished its five-game homestand 2-3
Houston kicked off its five-game road trip 1-0

One happy King despite the loss even though he would have liked to have won the game

“It was good,” said Omri Casspi.”Coaches kind kind of got me going and being involved in different plays. It felt great. I’ve missed being out there playing in front of the fans. Unfortunately, the result came up short but (it was) good to be out there.”

James Harden on breaking the 3-point field goal attempt record

“I didn’t know until just now. (We were) efficient though, right? 21-out-of-50,” asked Harden. “That’s pretty good – that’s pretty good.”

Local guy Ryan Anderson on the Kings new arena

“There has be a lot of news talking about this new arena coming into being,” said Anderson originally from El Dorado Hills. “Just to be here now is pretty awesome. Beautiful place.”

Coming up next

The Kings kick off a six-game road on Sunday in Brooklyn with the Nets. The game starts at 3:00 PST local time.

The Rockets continue their five-game road trip with game number two in Portland on Sunday night.

Kings host the Rockets in the final game of the homestand

Published on November 25, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Kings wrap up their five-game homestand on Friday night when they host the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are 9-6 on the season and are in fifth place in the Western Conference.

The Rockets continue being road warriors tonight

Tonight’s game kicks off a five-game road trip for Houston
By the end of this trip the Rockets will have played 14 of their 20 games on the road
Houston is 5-4 on the road to date; they were 18-23 on the road last season
Toronto stopped the Rockets three-game winning streak on Wednesday night with a 115-102 win in Houston
WARNING: the Rockets are 5-0 in the first game following a loss this season

It’s still James Harden’s world

Los Angeles Clippers v Houston Rockets - Game Seven — James Harden NBA.com

Harden is averaging 28.7 points, 12.5 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game
He has scored or assisted on 53.7-percent of the Rockets field goals this year
Harden has 12 double-doubles (points/assists) so far this season
He has recorded 15+ assists five times this season

New additions since last year

2e775b29-9a9a-42aa-8ff1-aacc6c4b88e1-nba_1_1280x720 — Ryan Anderson NBA.com

First, there is the a new head coach in Mike D’Antoni. This is his fifth head coaching job in the NBA. He has been the head man at Denver, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles Lakers and now Houston
Local product Ryan Anderson formerly of New Orleans – the 3-point bomber who loves to take on the Kings – is now a member of the Rockets. He is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 38.4-percent from 3-point range
Houston also signed Eric Gordon as a sixth man away from New Orleans. He is averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench for the Rockets

Kings – the final game of the homestand

Sacramento is 2-2 on this homestand. A win tonight would give them a winning record on this home tilt
This is the first of four meetings between the Kings and Rockets this season
The Rockets won 3-of-4 games last season
The Kings are looking to build on their wins over Toronto and Oklahoma City
This will be another test for the new “small ball” line up that has been put in place by head coach Dave Joerger

For Sacramento it’s still about Boogie

Oklahoma City Thunder v Sacramento Kings — Cousins celebrates versus Thunder (Rocky Widner/NBAE)

As Cousins goes so goes the Kings. The big man scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against OKC. They will need big numbers from him again tonight
Rudy Gay is always important to the Kings success on the court. He put up 17 points versus the Thunder just below his season average of 20.2 ppg. With a scoring machine like Ryan Anderson at forward for the opposition, Gay’s production will be key
Point guard Darren Collison exploded on offense in his first start of the season. He scored 21 points and dished out six assists in the Wednesday game
Sacramento also received good support from the bench on Wednesday night. Ty Lawson, Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore and Garrett Temple all played productive minutes in the game
Coach Joerger went with a short bench against OKC. He used just nine players in that contest. Will that be the case again tonight?

The trade rumors just will not go away

More trade rumors were flying around on the internet today claiming that DeMarcus Cousins is about to be traded soon. The rumors have indicated that a trade would happen in early December to as late as February 2017.

The good news for Kings fans is their star player seems to be immune to the trade talk at this point is career. He has been the subject of trade rumors so often Cousins might only be concerned if he was left out of the rumor mill.

The concern is affect the trade talk might have on his teammates. It does not take much to distract a team and take them off their focus of trying play winning basketball. They need to follow the lead of their star player and focus on the game and not the talk off the court.

Back on the road again

barclay — Barclay Center home of the Nets NBA.com

The Kings will head back out on the road for six games in 12 days with all but one game to be played in the Eastern time zone. It is a long trip but the good news is there is only one back-to-back set of games on the trip.

The trip opens on Sunday night in Brooklyn with the Nets. The Kings will then get the back-to-back out of the way early as they play the Wizards in D.C. on Monday night. They will also visit Philadelphia, Boston, Manhattan, and Dallas before returning home on December 9th to host the Knicks.

For entertainment purposes only

The good folks at FiveThirtyEight.com have the Rockets as the favorites in the game minus 0.5 points. They give the Rockets a 52-percent chance to win the game.

The FiveThirtyEight CARMELO system projects the Rockets to have an 85-percent chance of making the playoffs but just a one-percent chance of winning the NBA Championship.

The fine folks in Nevada say the Rockets are the favorites minus 3.0 to 3.5 points. They believe the over/under will be 215 to 216 points.

UC Davis stumbles in the first game of Great Alaska Shootout losing to Weber State 86-55

Published on November 25, 2016November 25, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

shootoutweberucdavis161124-001 — Jeremy Senglin of Weber State goes to basket versus UC Davis Photo: Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News

The UC Davis Men’s Basketball team played the defending Big Sky Champion Weber State Wildcats in the first-round of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout on Thanksgiving night. The Wildcats lived up to their reputation of being a very good basketball team coming away with a 86-55 win over the Aggies (4-2).

Weber State put on a scoring barrage in the second half putting up 47 points to 26 points for UC Davis. The Wildcats shot 64.0-percent (16-for-25) from the field in the closing half and hit on 7-of- 13 opportunities beyond the 3-point line. The Aggies shot 34.8-percent in the second half and went 3-for-7 from long range.

UC Davis held a 20-9 lead in the first half, but Weber State hit 6-of-12 shots from behind the 3-point arc to make a comeback in the half. As the teams went to halftime Weber State held a 39-32 over the Aggies.

Joe Mooney was the Aggies leading scorer with 12 points. He was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor including two 3-pointers.

“We have a lot of confidence in Joe, he is a good player. He will continue to earn minutes; you can tell that he is becoming more comfortable as the season progresses,” said head coach Jim Les.

Siler Schneider added 11 points, Chima Moneke had eight points and eight rebounds while Mikey Henn scored seven points for the Aggies.

Dusty Baker led the Wildcats scoring with 21 points in 22 minutes on the floor. Jeremy Senglin produced 20 points and was 4-for-8 from long range. Weber State (2-2) as a team shot 52.0-percent (13-for-25) from downtown.

No rest for the weary

UC Davis faces a quick turnaround as they will face Drake (1-3) in a 3:00 PST tipoff on Friday. Drake – a member of the Missouri Valley Conference – lost their first game of the tournament to Iona 64-53.

The Aggies will have one more game in the consolation bracket on Saturday at either 1:00 or 3:00 PM depending on the results of the Drake game.

This could be the last Great Alaskan Shootout

This the 39th and possibly the last Great Alaskan Shootout. The tournament has been financially challenged and now the Alaska State Legislature is threatening to reduce the funding it gives the event.

There are so many tournaments in warm weather locations that are more attractive to teams and their fans. There are also the several Las Vegas opportunities. Frankly, the winter conditions in Alaska with temperatures in twenties, snow and six-hours of daylight is not a big draw for fans who like to travel with their team.

Unless the tournament is able to find a larger corporate sponsor or a higher-paying television contract, the Great Alaskan Shootout may be history.

Portions of the information in this story were supplied by the Sports Information Departments of UC Davis and Weber State

Reno Bighorns win their first game of the season downing Texas 110-108

Published on November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Charlie O. Mallonee

The Reno Bighorns finally broke into the win column on Tuesday night when they edged the Texas Legends (Dallas Mavericks) 110-108. Malachi Richardson hit a jumper with one-tenth of a second left on the clock to break the tie and give the win to the Bighorns (1-4).

The Bighorns held a four-point lead at the end of three quarters. The Reno lead fluctuated between two to six points as the Legends tried to retake the lead. With 7:58 to go in the game, Texas grabbed that lead and built it up to five points only to have the Bighorns comeback and tie things up with 4:31 to go.

The teams tied the game up three times in the final four minutes. The final tie coming with 16.7-seconds to play when the Legends Bryson Fonville banked in a three-foot jump shot to make it a 108-108 game.

Reno’s Lamar Patterson made a bad pass that was stolen by Fonville. Isaiah Cousins was able to steal the ball back for the Bighorns who called a timeout with 3.8-seconds left in the game and Reno trailing by two points.

The inbound pass went to Malachi Richardson who immediately put up a 21-foot jump shot that went through the hoop with 1-tenth of second remaining in the game which did not leave enough time for the Legends to make a basket.

The Bighorns won the game 110-108.

Bighorn scoring

Guard Lamar Patterson was the leading scorer in the game with 27 points. He went 12-for-14 from the free throw line. Patterson also had five steals.
Malachi Richardson not only hit the game winning shot – he put up 26 points and was also productive at the charity stripe hitting on 9-of-11 opportunities.
Skal Labissiere had a big game at center scoring 21 points in 28 minutes on the floor. He shot 9-for-16 in the game and grabbed eight rebounds.
Isaiah Cousins posted a double-double scoring 16 points and pulling in 10 rebounds.
Big Georgios Papagiannis – who was sent back to Reno from the Kings – also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Reno’s team numbers

Shooting 36-for-81 (44.4-percent)
3-pointers 6-for-18 (33.3-percent)
Free Throws 32-for-38 (84.2-percent)
47 rebounds, 16 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocked shots
18 turnovers that resulted in 23 Texas points

Texas numbers

Shooting 39-for-87 (44.8-percent)
3-pointers 8-for-24 (33.3-percent)
Free Throws 22-for-28 (78.6-percent)
41 rebounds, 22 assists, 10 steals, five blocked shots
20 turnovers that turned into 16 Reno points

Up next

Everyone in the NBA D-League has Thanksgiving off.

The Bighorns return to play on Friday night in Prescott Valley, Arizona when they visit the Northern Arizona Suns.

The Legends head back to Texas where they will host the Salt Lake City Stars on Saturday night.

The three players on Kings roster are recalled to Sacramento

Malachi Richardson-the fourth highest scorer in the D-League, Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis will enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner in Sacramento. All three players have been recalled by the Kings.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger told reporters last Friday in his pregame press conference to expect the players to go back and forth from Reno to Sacramento frequently. He also said that only two of the roster players will be in Reno a majority of the time in order to increase the number of shot opportunities for the players who are with the Bighorns. The Kings also feel it is good for the rookies to be around and practice with the veterans.

There are no option rules in the NBA like in Major League Baseball so players can move between a NBA roster and a NBA D-League roster whenever the parent club wants them to and as many times as the organization feels is appropriate for the players.

Who’s hot in the D-League?

Two of the Top 25 players who are rated most likely to make it to the NBA are on the Reno Bighorns:

#7 is Lamar Patterson is averaging 20.6 points and 4.4 assists per game
#20 is Isaiah Cousins is averaging 12.6 ppg and 3.6 assists per game

i-cousins-summer — Isaiah Cousins in the NBA Summer League

Both men are a “Affiliate Players” of the Sacramento Kings assigned to Reno. That means the Kings were able to send Patterson and Cousins to Reno without sending them through the D-League Draft so they can continue to learn the Sacramento style of play. However, both players remain free agents who can sign with any team in the NBA that offers them a contract.

Former Kings player Ray McCallum is currently ranked as the number two player most likely to be called up to “the Association”. He is playing for the Pistons D-League entry – the Grand Rapids Drive and is averaging 18.0 points to go with 9.3 assists per game.

College basketball debuts at the Golden 1 Center: UC Davis downs Sac State 81-72

Published on November 22, 2016November 22, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–History was made tonight at the Golden 1 Center when the Sacramento State Hornets and the UC Davis Aggies Men’s basketball teams met for their annual “Causeway Classic” game. It was the first NCAA game to be played in the new entertainment and sports complex in the Capital City.

Both programs were winners because of the attention the game drew from the community at large. On the court, UC Davis (4-1) downed Sacramento State (1-3) 81-72.

UC Davis used high-percentage shots in the paint along with an outstanding 3-point shooting barrage to defeat very physical Sacramento State team.

50-percent was the Aggies number

UC Davis shot 50-percent from the floor (29-for-58). The Aggies also shot 50-percent from beyond the 3-point line (8-for-16). They hit five of those 3-pointers in the second half which helped propel them to the win. Brynton Lemar was the Aggies leading 3-point shooter going 3-for-5 from long range.

The Aggies had five players in double-figures

Guard Brynton Lemar was UC Davis’ leading scorer with 23 points. He was also the assists leader with five. This was the second time this season he has been the Aggies top scorer.
Forward Moneke Chima posted a double-double scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds
Mikey Henn put up 13 points coming off the bench
J.T. Adenrele and Darius Graham each scored 10 points against the Hornets

Sacramento State shot strong in the first half but dropped off in the second half

The Hornets shot 45.5-percent (15-for-33) in the opening half. That allowed them to go in at halftime trailing by just two points. In the second half, that shooting touch went away. Sac State shot just 29.4-percent (10-for-34) in the closing half.

The Hornets 3-point shooting finished at just 25-percent (7-for-28). Head coach Brian Katz pointed at taking too many 3-point shots as one of his team’s weaknesses in the game.

The Hornets had four players score in double-figures

Grant Dressler was Sac State’s leading scorer with 15 points. He went 3-for-4 from long range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line
Forward Nick Hornsby put up 14 points shooting 50-percent from the field (6-for-12)
Forward Justin Strings recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds
Guard Marcus Graves added 12 points to the Hornets total production

What they said after the game

“We challenged the guys at halftime and these guys responded. They made the changes that were needed, ramped up their physicality and intensity. That turned the tide in tonight’s game, in my opinion,” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les whose team held a two-point lead at halftime.

“I thought we were able to wear down a well-coached Sacramento State team, and take advantage of that fatigue throughout the last 10 minutes of the game,” added Les.

“It is crazy now that the game is over and I am able to look back at that shot. That was never my plan, I was open in the corner and took the shot. I can always tell my kids that I played in the first college game and made the first basket too. They can believe me, or not, but it’s true,” said Darius Graham talking about his three-point basket that was the first collegiate points scored in the Golden 1 Center.

“Their offense is built around penetration and kick. I thought they did a great job looking for him,” Sacramento State head coach Brian Katz talking about the Aggies finding Brynton Lemar on offense.

“I think we shot too many 3’s,” said Katz. “I give their defense credit for that. I don’t like to lose and then make excuses and say we didn’t play well. I think it had a lot to do on how they guarded us. They did a great job with that.”

What’s next for the Aggies and the Hornets

The Aggies head north for the GCI Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage that begins on Thursday night. Their first opponent will be Weber State. The other teams in the tourney are Drake and Iona.

The Hornets will travel to Cheney, Washington to play in the Eastern Washington Tourney along with San Francisco and Denver on November 26 and 27.

Mark December 21, 2017 on your calendars now

The Kings and the Golden 1 Center announced on Monday night that Stanford and Kansas have been scheduled to play a NCAA Division I basketball game in Sacramento on December 21, 2017. They did not make an announcement about it being a doubleheader, but somehow I have the feeling that Sacramento State and UC Davis might be playing in the same building on that night as well.

Kings-Raptors postgame notes page 2

Published on November 21, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings — Rudy Gay jams home the final Kings points of the game on Sunday night Photo: Rocky Widner NBAE

NBA Crew Chief Mike Callahan answers questions on the last 2.4-seconds of the Kings vs Raptors game

NBA referee Mike Callahan pool reporter transcript below: pic.twitter.com/3Rx8ad4Lra

— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 21, 2016

Dave Joerger said no small lineup and then said yes

In his pregame press conference, Kings head coach Dave Joerger said he was not sure that a “small ball” lineup was going to happen against the Raptors. Joerger indicated he was really upset after the game on Friday and may have spoken to quickly.

Then … we were waiting for the starting lineups to be announced. They are usually brought to the press tables approximately 20 minutes before the start of the game. We were still waiting for the lineups when the National Anthem was performed.

Just before the player introductions, we received the official starters sheet. Coach Joerger decided to go small. Cousins slid into the number five slot while Gay and Matt Barnes took over the forward positions. Joerger went with twin point guards – Ty Lawson and Darren Collison to start the contest.

The small lineup played fast but was not able to overcome the four to five point lead the Raptors had established. At the 6:23 mark, Joerger switched things up and inserted center Kosta Koufos for Lawson.

The Kings responded to the new configuration and tied the score. Then, the “2 bigs” unit started establishing a lead that grew as large as 10 points. At the end of the first period, Sacramento was up 36-28.

The Kings had a tough second quarter without Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins picked up two personal fouls in the first quarter which was obviously part of the Raptors plan to neutralize the Kings star center. With 8:54 to go in the second, Joerger felt like he had to get Cousins back on the floor. At 8:34 on the clock, Cousins was headed back to the bench having picked up his third personal foul.

Willie Cauley-Stein came into the game for Cousins and the second-year center went to school. He had the task of trying to defend Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas. At seven feet and a solid 265 pounds, the very experienced Valanciunas was just too much for Cauley-Stein to handle by himself.The Toronto center scored six points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot during Cauley-Stein’s time on the floor.

Kosta Koufos reentered the game and was able to slow down Valanciunas while Rudy Gay and Arron Afflalo went to work scoring points. The Kings were able to cut the Toronto lead to five – 63 to 58 – at the half.

Kings got small again in the third quarter

Dave Joerger returned to his “small” starting lineup to start the third period. The small Kings kept the game with five points but were unable to cut into the Raptors lead.

At 7:17, the Kings returned to the “2 bigs” lineup when Koufous subbed back into the game. The presence of Cousins and Koufos made Toronto’s Valanciunas much less effective.

Sacramento – led by a quick five points from Matt Barnes – began to score points. First, they tied the score. Then, Cousins converted a layup and the Kings took the lead. Sacramento scored the final four points of the quarter. At the end of three quarters, the Kings held the lead 86-81.

The fourth quarter lacked execution

Both teams shot just 25-percent from the floor in the final period. Toronto scored 18 points and the Kings 16 points in the quarter. Rudy Gay had the hot hand for the Kings shooting 3-for-5 and scoring seven points including the crucial final two points of the game for Sacramento.

Kyle Lowry tried to will the Raptors back into the game single handedly. He scored nine points, hauled in five defensive rebounds and dished out two assists in the final 12-minutes.

Toronto committed seven turnovers that created seven points for the Kings while Sacramento turned the ball over just three times which yielded three points for the Raptors.

Each team had four starters with 30 or more minutes of playing time in the game.

Joerger went deep into the bench

After having played a shorter rotation in several games, the Kings used 11 players against the Raptors. Only Omri Casspi and Gerorgios Papagiannis did not play. Coach Joerger was very proud of his team and their effort.

A little rest and some practice time

The Kings will get some time to rest and get in some practice as they will not play again until Wednesday night when they will host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set after facing the Lakers on Tuesday night in LA.

Kings win a thriller over the Raptors 102-99

Published on November 21, 2016November 21, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have done the improbable by defeating the mighty Toronto Raptors 102-99 on Sunday at home to complete the season swept for the second consecutive season.

The win broke up a Sacramento four-game losing streak. Ironically, the Kings victory earlier in the month in Toronto also ended a four-game losing skid.

It is too early in the season to label it a “must win” game, but it was a “we need to win soon” game. The Kings have two games remaining on this homestand with Oklahoma City and Houston – two teams that are playing good basketball right now. The last thing the Kings wanted to do was go winless on a five-game homestand.

This game had one of the best endings for Kings fans in some time. If you are a Raptors fan, you do not share that opinion. In fact, you feel your team got “hosed”.

The final 101-seconds were wild

Darren Collison stole the ball from Patrick Patterson of the Raptors. Collison pushed the ball up the floor. He then passed the ball to Barnes at the top of the key. Barnes passed back to Collison who found the trailer Rudy Gay who put the ball away with commanding dunk.

Following a series of missed shots by both teams, Kyle Lowry was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer by Darren Collison. Lowry hit the first two charity shots but missed the third and Cousins pulled down the rebound.

Following a 20-second timeout, the Kings were unable to make a basket after playing keep away and committed a shot clock violation.

With 2.4-seconds left is when all the fun began.

The final 2.4-seconds felt the final five-minutes … oh they were!

Following the shot clock violation, the Raptors took a 20-second timeout which meant they would inbound the ball in the frontcourt. Toronto had to have a 3-point basket to tie the game and force an overtime session.

DeMarre Carroll was the player who was selected to inbound the ball. DeMarcus Cousins was put on Carroll to defend against the inbound pass. At the whistle, Carroll threw the inbounds pass to Terrence Ross. The ball hit the floor before Ross picked it up. Ross then took a 30-foot shot that was a beautiful “swish” shot for a game-tying 3-pointer. The ball clearly went through the basket before the red light lit up around the backboard.

DeMarcus Cousins immediately indicated to anyone who would listen that he had tipped the inbounds pass. If he did, the clock should have started then and Ross’ shot may have come too late to count.

Because it was under two minutes, the play went to an automatic video review to the NBA Video Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey for the final decision. After a complete review, the final decision was Cousins did indeed deflect the ball which means the clock started at the point. Running the clock from that point Ross’ shot came after time had expired, so the basket did not count. Kings win the game 102-99.

Toronto head coach Dwane Casey was incredibly upset with the officials and the decision. However, no one would expect him to be happy to have a potential tie game taken away from his team.

Important numbers for the Kings

Rudy Gay was the Kings high-scorer with 23 points and needed just 13 shots to tally those points. It was a nice comeback after having to two rough games.
DeMarcus Cousins recorded another double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) despite missing considerable minutes in the first half with foul trouble
Darren Collison put up 15 points and added nine assists in a very active game for the point guard
Arron Afflalo scored 14 points in 19 minutes coming off the bench
The lead changed 11 times in the game
This game was tied 13 times
The Kings shot 40.7-percent (11-for-27) from 3-point land
Sacramento held DeMar DeRozan – the NBA’s leading scorer – to just 12 points

Key stats for the Raptors

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors scoring effort with 25 points. He went 9-for-10 from the free throw line
Center Jonas Valanciunas – who did not play against the Kings in Toronto – put up 23 and hauled in 14 rebounds for the double-double in 37 minutes of playing time
DeMarre Carroll hit for 17 points to make 4-0f-5 starters in double figures
The Raptors shot 91.7-percent (22-for-24) from the free throw line

Up next

The Kings are off until Wednesday when they will host Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Raptors have the back-end of a back-to-back on the road tomorrow night in Los Angeles versus the Clippers.