12-1-19: BUFFALO 132 WASHINGTON 104

8 Rebounds/ 18 Points/ 3 Steals 

Cylde Drexler poured in 18 points and snagged 8 rebounds to help the Buffalo Blizzards blow out the Washington Wizards 132-104  in VBA action.   James Bailey, a 6'9" power forward out of Rutgers, added 19 points and 9 rebounds while World B Free contributed 18 points for the Blizzards.  The Blizzards outscored the Wizards 39-19 in the 3Q to seal Washington's fate.

Alton Lister posted 15 points and 10 rebounds while Thurl Bailey added 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Wizards.  Sleepy Floyd only hit 3-14 from the floor and Derek Smith picked up 4 fouls in the first half which helps explain the Wizards loss.

Wizard Coach Bill Russell had the following post game comments:

"We had a complete defensive breakdown in this game.  You cannot allow 132 points to a weak offensive team and expect to win in this league. I intend to play players who have the intensity and desire to reverse efforts like the one we had this evening."

November 30, 2019: Washington 91 El Paso 83

                                      Donaldson Dominates the Paint

James Donaldson ( 15 points/ 13 boards) and Derek Smith ( 19 points/ 6 boards) led the Wizards to a 91-83 win over the El Paso Scorpions, the second win over El Paso during this road trip.

Washington led by 3 at the 1Q but trailed by 8 at the half.  The Wizards made some adjustments then cut the deficit to 2 at the end of the 3Q before taking off in the 4Q for a 8 point win.   The keys to victory were the tough D and a 28-19 advantage off the bench.

The Scorpion back court of Maurice Cheeks ( 20 points/6 assists/4 steals) and Michael Jordan (21points/6 rebounds/7 assists) gave the Wizards fits while  Mark Eaton ( 8 points/14 rebounds) and Larry Smith ( 8 points/10 rebounds) kept the game close.

Coach Bill Russell:

" Our defense came to play tonight.  You have to have the desire and intensity to hold any team in the VBA under 100 so we will take the win and look forward to the next road trip.  We finished 3-5 on this road trip.  Our goal was to finish 4-4 so we have alot of room for improvement. "

November 28, 2019: Washington 117 Minnesota 110

                                         20 Points/ 6 Rebounds/ Good D

Thurl Bailey (20 points/ 6 rebounds) played outstanding defense and the dynamic duo of James Donaldson ( 21 points/ 10 rebounds) and Alton Lister ( 14 points/ 13 rebounds) dominated the paint as the Washington Wizards picked up their second road win of the season by defeating the Minnesota Muskies 117-110.

The Wizards trailed by 5 points at the end of the 1Q but led by 3 at the half before opening up a 15 lead after 3Q and surviving a 4Q Muskie surge for a 7 point win.  The keys to victory included a 62-38 advantage inside the paint as well as a 53-41 edge in bench scoring.

Rickey Green (22) led the Muskies and Robert Parish ( 14 points/ 13 rebounds) was usual self but the Wizards shutdown  Kiki Vandeweghe ( 14) and Charles Barkley (8 points/ 2 rebounds).

Coach Bill Russell:

" I enjoyed the effort we had on the defensive end of the court, especially the way our big men dominated the paint.  There were alot of encouraging developments but we need more consistency. "

November 26, 2019: Costa Mesa 127 Washington 97

                                          Short (34) leads Costa Mesa

Purvis Short (34) led the Costa Mesa Scorpions to a 127-97 win over the hapless Washington Wizards.

The Scorpions just had too many weapons for the Wizards to handle.  Isiah Thomas (14 points/ 11 assists)  was the Costa Mesa general who spent the night not only passing to Short (34) but also Bernard King (26 points/7 rebounds), Akeem Olajuwon (16 points/10 rebounds/3 blocks) and Mychael Thompson (12 points/8 rebounds).  Thomas was the key to a 34-14 fast break advantage.

El Paso opened up a 22 point lead after 1Q then extended it to 25 after 2Q, 28 after 3Q before settling for a 30 point win. 

Derek Smith (22) led the Wizards and James Donaldson added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Coach Bill Russell:

" You have to show up to play with your best game to compete in the VBA. Unfortunately, I did not do a good job of making sure that happened tonight.
I do not want to take anything away from Costa Mesa.  They have an opportunity to go far in the VBA playoffs."

November 16, 2019: Washington 98 El Paso 89

                                              Sleepy leads with 16 Points 

Sleepy Floyd (16) led a balanced scoring attack as the Wizards broke a 4 game losing streak on the road for a 98-89 lead.  Gus Williams (15), Derek Smith (13) and Thurl Bailey (10 points/ 8 rebounds) all led the balanced attack.

The teams were tied after the 1Q before the Wizards opened up a 8 point lead at halftime.  El Paso cut the lead to 7 after 3Q before Washington survived with a 9 point win. 

 Scorpion SG Michael Jordan (34) looks like the VBA rookie of the year and Mark Eaton (10 rebounds) will always get his share of rebounds.  The Wizards held a 42-18 advantage inside the paint while the Washington bench outscored El Paso 46-20.

Coach Bill Russell:

" Michael Jordan is another great player in the VBA and I was impressed with the fact we shutdown the rest of the El Paso squad and held them below 100 points.  This just reinforces my idea that the key to winning is playing quality defense.  It was good to see us break this losing streak."

November 9, 2019: Bucks County 149 Washington 137

                                      40 Points/ 14 Rebounds/ 9 Assists

Larry Bird just missed posting a triple double as the Bucks County Knights survived a Washington Wizard upset bid for a 149-137 win.  Knights' center Ralph Sampson took over the paint by posting 32 points and 13 rebounds.  The Knights outscored the Wizards 70-42 inside the paint which allowed Bucks County to survive 34 lead changes.

The Knights led by 2 after 1Q then fell behind by 7 at the half.  The Wizards held a 1 point lead after 3Q before the Knights blew open the game in the 4Q for a 12 point win.

Derek Smith (35), DJ Johnson (23) and Gus Williams (21) led the Wizards in scoring while Thurl Bailey added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Coach Bill Russell:

" Larry Bird is one of the best basketball players in NBA history.  That being said, we led at halftime so we need to play 48 minutes of quality basketball instead of 24 if we are going to compete in this league."

November 7, 2019: Buffalo 134 Washington 110

                                            38 Points/ 6 Bombs/ 5 Assists 

World B Free exploded for 38 points including 6  three pointers from downtown as the Blizzards blew out the visiting Washington Wizards. Free hit 13/23 field goal attempts, 6/8 three pointers and 6/7 free throws as the streaky shooter picked up the game MVP.   

Buffalo led by 3 after the 1Q and extended the lead to 14 at the half.   Washington failed to cut into the lead as the Blizzards led by 23 after 3Q and settled for the final 24 point margin. 

Blizzard  PF Tom Chambers posted 16 points and 11 rebounds while Rory Sparrow added 12 points and 12 assists.  Buffalo's bench was also very productive as 6'8'' PF Audie Norris contributed 19 points and 9 rebounds and Kevin Willis posted 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Derek Smith lead the Wizards with 27 points followed by Sleepy Floyd (20) and DJ Johnson (18).  

Washington coach Bill Russell:

" This team needs to learn how to play defense before it can win on a consistent basis.  We have alot of work to do before we can have a team worthy of the great Wizard fans which support this franchise."