Shiga loses 7th straight; Niigata crushed by Akita

The Shiga Lakestars' slump reached seven games on Sunday, with a 102-75 defeat at the hands of the Sunrockers Shibuya at the Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall.

Kiefer Ravena struggled, going just 1-of-8 from the field for four points, three assists, and two steals. 

The Lakestars had no answer for former NBA player James Michael McAdoo, who put up 25 points and 10 rebounds while missing just one of his 12 field goal attempts.

The Sunrockers didn't give Shiga a chance as they surged ahead, 28-16, after the opening quarter before building a 22-point lead, 55-33, at the half. Their lead ballooned to 31 points, 77-46, after a You Nishino layup with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Shiga made a brief run in the fourth quarter, trimming the deficit to 22 points midway through the frame off a Sean O'Mara jumper. The hole was too deep for the Lakestars to climb out of, however.

Ovie Soko had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Lakestars, while O'Mara had 12 points and 11 boards.

Shiga (6-9) plays the Sunrockers again on Monday evening.

Also losing on Sunday night were Kobe Paras and Niigata Albirex BB, who were comprehensively beaten 89-58 by the Akita Northern Happinets.

Akita used a big second quarter to break the game open, and kept the pressure on Niigata in the third frame. In the fourth period, the Northern Happinets limited Niigata to just eight points.

Niigata made just 34% of their field goals in the game, including just three of 19 attempts from long-range.

Paras was 1-of-7 from the field for five points. Tshilidzi Nephawe was Niigata's top scorer with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Takatoshi Furukawa put up 17 points to power Akita's rout. The Happinets wnet 11-of-29 from beyond the arc, and had a 45-31 advantage on the boards. They also pounced on Niigata's 19 turnovers, scoring 32 points off those miscues.

Niigata, which is now at 2-14, lost their 13th straight game. They play again next weekend against the Sunrockers Shibuya.