Published: January 04, 2009 11:30 pm      

ABA makes Beckley debut

After countless hours on the team bus, off to destinations ranging from New Jersey to Cleveland, the West Virginia Blazers were happy to finally make their home debut.

“After being on the road, five-, six-hour bus trips, and then coming home, 20 minutes (away), it was a good feeling,” forward Joey Preast, a Fayetteville native, said.

They just wish the game would have ended differently.

In their first-ever American Basketball Association game on their home court, the Blazers fell 112-82 to the Nashville Broncs. A crowd of about 500 showed up on a Sunday evening to watch the historic event.

The Blazers are headquartered in Bluefield, but will play all 15 home games at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. Their roster was officially finalized in September and consists of a mix of former area high school standouts, a pair of former Mountain State University stars and some out-of-state products.

“I am real happy (with the turnout),” Blazers coach Tony Webster said. “I wish we could have given them (a win).”

As can often be expected of a first-year franchise, West Virginia is still looking for its first win. Sunday’s loss dropped the Blazers to 0-7 on the year, although the 82 points was a season low. They scored over 100 points four times this season.

While the talent is obvious, the Blazers are still seeking team chemistry. They are new as teammates, unlike other ABA teams, including Nashville, a team made up largely of former Division I players who know each other well.

“We’re not meshing yet,” Webster said. “It’s a work in progress. We knew going in this first year was going to be hard. We played a very good team today. They are the No. 2 team in the ABA right now. We’re getting there.

“I still don’t see a lot of things that I like. ... We’re not playing four quarters. If I can get four quarters out of them, then we are going to be competitive.”

The Blazers trailed 19-16 after the first quarter, but the Broncs used a 12-0 run in the second to take a 35-19 lead and begin to pull away.

Desi Crisp led West Virginia with 22 points. He scored the team’s first six points and last four.

Maurice Davis, a former MSU player now living in Sophia, added 19. Melvin Rodgers, who played at perennial MSU opponent Allen University (S.C.), and Preast scored nine each.

The Broncs had five players in double figures, paced by Jemere Hendrix’s 28. Josh Cooperwood was next with 27, followed by 14 from Patrick Chambers, 13 from Curtis Lewis and 10 from Marquis Patton.

Nashville nailed 11 three-pointers, one by Desmond Cambridge that was actually a four-pointer under one of the “unique ABA rules.” The shot was made while the 3-D light was on, which happens when either the offensive team loses possession while the ball is in the backcourt or the ball goes out of bounds after touching the frontcourt (or a player or official in the frontcourt).

The light remains in effect if the offensive team does not establish ball control in the frontcourt.

While the light is on, two-point shots are worth three points and three-pointers worth four.

Preast was fouled with the light on and thus was awarded three free throws. He missed the first before sinking the final two.

“At first it was tough (getting used to the different rules), but every team plays with the same rules,” Preast said. “If you don’t know them by now ... I mean, you just have to learn them. We got thrown into the fire and had to do some learning on the fly, but we’re getting them down.”

The Blazers return to Beckley on Wednesday to host the Jersey Express. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

— E-mail: gfauber@

register-herald.com

— On the Internet: www.wvblazers.com



Nashville Broncs 112,

W.Va. Blazers 82

Nashville

Curtis Lewis 5 0-0 13, Josh Cooperwood 11 0-0 27, Desmond Cambridge 2 0-0 6, Marcus Kinzer 3 2-2 8, Marquis Patton 4 2-2 10, LaKory Daniels 2 0-0 4, Patrick Chambers 5 4-7 14, Terrance Woods 1 5-5 8, Jemere Hendrix 5 11-14 28. Totals: 38 24-30 112.

West Virginia

Neil Rasnake 0 0-0 0, DeNelle Hale 1 0-1 2, Justin Bennett 0 0-0 0, Chris Nichols 1 0-0 2, Chawn Martin 1 0-0 3, Brian Kidd 1 0-0 2, Cedric Brown 3 2-4 8, Joey Preast 2 3-5 9, Maurice Davis 6 7-12 19, Melvin Rodgers 4 1-2 9, Corey Love 2 1-1 6, Desi Crisp 10 0-0 22. Totals: 31 14-25 82.

N 19 28 37 28 — 112

WV 16 13 15 38 — 82

Three-point goals: N: 11 (Cooperwood 5, Lewis 3, Cambridge, Woods, Hendrix); WV: 6 (Martin, Preast 2, Crisp 2, Love); Fouled out: none.