Kings get Buckets for sixth straight win
- Updated: February 10, 2020
2020 SAN DIEGO KINGS BASKETBALL
KINGS 142, BUCKETS 106
By Damon Sloan
Special to EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON – The San Diego Kings are on the push to the playoffs and are playing in peak form after a 142-106 victory over the Tucson Buckets on Sunday.
The Kings had seven players score in double figures, led by James Hancock, who pushed his double-double streak to six games with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
The first quarter was played tightly by the Buckets, who got 37 points from their star guard Domineik Banks. He scored 13 first-quarter points to keep the Buckets competitive but the Kings began to pick up the pressure in the second quarter with their full-court press and, as usual, the Kings were able to overwhelm the Buckets with their speed and transition finishing.
The Kings took a commanding 54-35 lead late in the second quarter and did not look back.
“We just played complete game today,” coach Davion Famber said after Sunday’s win. “We able to mix in different lineups and allow different guys to run with different squads to build chemistry. I couldn’t be prouder of our performance today.”
The Kings were able to reach 100 points in the third quarter and controlled the rebounding battle yet again, grabbing 60 rebounds in the contest. They also distributed the ball nicely, getting 28 assists from their 142 points.
A big reason for that was Ray Williams, whose court vision was superb throughout the entire game. He dropped 17 assists including several spectacular alley-oop passes to Julian Sampah and Davion Cole-Johnson, who made his Kings debut tonight with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. DCJ made several highlights in his Kings’ debut including an alley-oop slam from an out of bounds pass from Spencer Mattox in the third.
Julian Sampah stepped up offensively with 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench and was able to provide quality low post scoring with Hancock resting.
Yuri Kozhanov stepped into the starting lineup and delivered offensively scoring 14 points, nine of them in the first quarter; all three-point shots
The Kings were in the control throughout the entire game which allowed the Kings to play team owner Abraham Muheize in the contest.
Muheize, who starred at El Cajon High School in Football and Basketball, was able to knock down a three late in the third and finished a transition layup late in the game to add even more excitement to the Kings six-game winning streak.
With the playoffs near, the Kings are looking to solidify themselves as one of the top teams in the Far West Division of the ABA.
The team is on a winning streak dating back to December 14 when it beat the Las Vegas Royals.
The Kings go on the road next week as they head up to Northern California for rematch against Stockton’s Team Trouble, which the Kings beat at home, 115-92, on January 4. The Kings will play again the next day against the San Francisco City Cats, who are one of the best teams in the ABA.
The Kings will finish out the year at home against the Las Vegas Royals on February 22.
