The Jacksonville Giants travled to Chicago, Illinois for the ABA Playoffs to play against the Chicago Steam Saturday afternoon, March 31, 2012. The ABA Power Rankings lists Chicago #4 and Jacksonville #6. Basketball fans were able to watch the game on Facebook Ustream. Fans saw an exciting finish, with Jacksonville winning the game in the final seconds, 102-99.
At the end of the first quarter, Jacksonville led 28-22. Offensive rebounds helped the Giants to build a lead. Jacksonville extended their lead at the half to lead, 55-43. Anthony Lumpkin led the Giants in scoring with 18 points-he made 4 three points shots to lead all scores at half-time.
Chicago closed the gap, Jacksonville led 76-71 at the end of the third quarter. Currye Todd made a three point shot to give Jacksonville a 98-95 lead with seconds remaining in the game and Jacksonville held on to win 102-98.
Keys to the Jacksonville win was the Giants hit a high percentage of their free throws. They made 17 out of 21 free throw attempts at the end of the third quarter. Jacksonville was strong on the boards, as they made numerous offensive rebounds. Balanced scoring by the Giants was also key.
Leading scored for Jacksonville, was Lumpkin with his 18 first half points. Lamar Sanders added 13 points. Scoring 12 points each were, Jermaine Bell, Anthony Jackson, and Renaldo Norman.
Keith Dean led Chicago with 27 points. Sam Mack added 22 points.
Picture of Jacksonville Giants Head Coach, Kevin Waters courtesy of Jodi Arnold: j-vision.smugmug.com.
The final ABA Four will be played April 9th, in St. Petersburg, Florida with Jacksonville Giants playing Sand Diego Sol and South Carolina playing North Dallas. The ABA All-Star game will be played in St.Petersburg on April, 14th.
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