Whole Team Effort Lifts 66ers Past Mad Ants
TULSA, Okla., Jan. 5, 2011 – Jerome Dyson tallied a season-high 26 points, Cole Aldrich scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Latavious Williams posted 10 points and 14 boards to lead the Tulsa 66ers (12-6) to a commanding 115-86 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (11-6) Wednesday evening inside the Tulsa Convention Center.
The 66ers, who led by as many as 36 in the contest, picked up their fourth-straight win and their ninth in the last 11 games. It also marked the largest margin of victory for Tulsa this season.
“I am proud because our guys are continuing to compete on every possession and are committed to improving as a team every day,” 66ers head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Whatever minutes they receive, they are making the most of. We want to see our guys play at a high intensity level, and I think that continued tonight.”
Also scoring in double-figures for Tulsa was Elijah Millsap with 20, Ryan Reid with 12, Larry Owens with 11 and Tweety Carter with 10. Larry Owens added a team-high six assists.
The Mad Ants were led by Roderick Wilmont with 21 points. Also in double-figure scoring was Carlos English with 15, Obi Muonelo with 12 and Oliver Lafayette with 11.
Offensively, Tulsa tallied 25 assists and outscored Fort Wayne in the paint by a 60-24 margin.
Defensively, the 66ers held the Mad Ants to 30-79 (.380) shooting and forced 20 turnovers. Tulsa won the rebounding battle by a 54-35 clip.
“Our guys have really bought into playing defense and we are challenging a lot of shots,” Tibbetts said. “We try to compete on every possession and I thought we showed that tonight. Fort Wayne is an extremely talented team and we know they will be ready to battle again Friday night.”
Tulsa took a 68-41 lead into halftime, marking the largest point total in a half for the 66ers this season. The 66ers shot 27-41 (.659) from the floor, including 6-10 (.600) from the 3-point line in the opening quarters.
Updated 01-06-2011
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