Heaves will host ABA title game
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Above, Frost Heaves' Tyrone Levett takes a shot over Wilmington's Alvin Jefferson in the first quarter of the ABA championship semifinal at the Barre Auditorium on Tuesday. The Frost Heaves won 113-85. Above left, Frost Heaves coach Will Voigt talks to his team during a third-quarter time out. Stefan Hard/Times Argus |
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By Anna Grearson Times Argus Staff - Published: March 28, 2007
BARRE – The American Basketball Association playoffs, while a bit unconventional this season, have played out similar to the men's NCAA Tournament – success for the favorites.
The No. 1 Vermont Frost Heaves will return to the Barre Auditorium Thursday to vie for the ABA championship against No. 3 Texas following a 113-85 victory over No. 10 Wilmington (North Carolina) on Tuesday.
"We've got to understand how good these teams are that we're playing," Vermont coach Will Voigt said. "Any kind of lapse can lead to quick runs. It was definitely a good wake-up call from Bellingham, so hopefully we got that one out of the way."
There was no sign of said lapse in Tuesday's game, as the Heaves controlled the opening tap, Tyrone Barley found Kelvin Parker for three, and the lead was threatened from there.
Wilmington hung around for just over four minutes before the Frost Heaves went on a 17-6 run to close the first quarter.
The Sea Dawgs attempted to thwart Vermont with full-court pressure, but the Heaves broke it immediately and were able to run the floor at their pace – which was very, very quick.
"The offense comes from the defense," Voigt said. "We're a pretty good running team. We have a lot of weapons and we're quick. Generally, we're going to be quicker than the teams we play, but the key is to get the stop. Without the stop, we don't have the outlet and we don't have that push. The more we get stops, the more we get confidence that we will get a stop, the easier it is for us to get out. Once we do, we're pretty tough to handle."
Vermont's Tyrone Levett found himself nearly triple-teamed in front of the Wilmington bench late in the half, but rather than fret, the 6-foot-5-inch Levett simply took two hard dribbles out of the trap and connected for a two-pointer and a 45-26 lead..
The lead hovered around 25 for the remainder of the game, narrowing to 15 at the beginning of the third and ballooning to 30 midway through the fourth.
John Bryant emphatically swatted a Sea Dawgs shot with just under two minutes to play, and the Heaves went on a 9-5 run from there for the 113-85 final.
Vermont came into the game with a considerable size disadvantage, but the Heaves were able to make up the lost height with a solid zone defense.
"We wanted to try a couple of different looks at them," Voigt said. "It's been a while since we've been able to use our zone, just because of the teams we've been playing. It has been a lot of teams with shooters, and one of the good things is it does neutralize the bigs, but the tough thing is rebounding out of it, so that's what I'm most impressed with – to outrebound them by 17, that's pretty impressive, and our bigs really rose to the challenge."
Levett and Kevin Mickens were able to contain Wilmington's Cedric McGinnis, the Sea Dawgs' All-Star who dropped 30 points on the No. 11 Mississippi Miracle on Sunday.
"Kevin Mickens was just tremendous," Voigt said. "Defensively, he came in and held McGinnis – McGinnis had 30 in that last playoff game – and we held him to nine, and he's their All-Star. Ty Levett and Kevin Mickens were the guys harassing him all game, so that speaks volumes to what they did defensively."
The Heaves were also able to hold former University of Maryland star Byron Mouton to just six points and one rebound while forcing him to commit three turnovers.
Terrance Todd paced all scorers with 26 points for Wilmington, which ends its season at 21-9. Alexander Harper was the only other Sea Dawg in double figures with 18.
Wilmington, despite having nine games cancelled in the regular season, captured the Blue Central Division over the Strong Island Sound, which the Frost Heaves dispatched in the first round of the playoffs. The Sea Dawgs mustered one win against a team ranked higher than 18 in the ABA power rankings, but were able to put up 130 points and 119 points in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Antonio Burks led five Heaves in double figures with 22 points. Melvin Creddle added 18 points and six assists, Parker scored 17 points and handed out eight assists, and Antoine Hyman and Aaron Cook finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Bryant, though nursing an injury, pulled down 12 rebounds, came up with three steals and had two blocks.
"I'm getting better each day, and our team feels good," Bryant said. "For our team, the fans, for Vermont, we're doing a lot of big things right now."
The Texas Tycoons will be in town tomorrow night for the ABA title game, and according to Voigt, the Tycoons bring a style Heaves fans are accustomed to seeing.
"They're actually really similar to us," Voigt said. "They're very quick, they put a bunch of shooters on the floor and try and spread you out and they want to get up and down. They're going to press and they're going to run. They really want that tempo to go, go, go, go. It's going to be a pretty interesting game, and it should be a fun one. Both teams are similar in what they want to do. I don't think we're going to change what we're doing. It's gotten us this far and lets just hope we've got enough gas left in the tank after tonight."