Nieves garners Player of the Week; MBL Top 5

Fury Guard gets Player of the Week

The Indiana Fury just keep racking up the wins, and with that come the awards too.

 Guard Xavier Nieves grabbed his first MBL Player of the Week Award as he dropped 34 points (15-21 FGs), led the Fury with 12 rebounds, dished out 8 assists, had 3 steals and a block on leading the Fury to their 6th straight win.
 
    Nieves was on point all night, and the Fury needed it to hold off the Northern Indiana Monarchs.

   This makes the 3rd guy to win the award for coach Steven Thurber and Indiana Fury.


MBL  Top 5  (Week 3) 

Here's our weekly rankings as we rank the best of the best in the MBL:

(1)  Indiana Fury  (6-1)  - "Feel The Fury"  is the Motto that Indiana has been going by. After that season opening loss, the Fury have shown they are and will be a title contender come end of season. With a good coach, positive fan base, and good players on the roster, the Fury are on the rise.


(2) Chicago Fury (5-1)  - Chicago  has shown that they are here for the long haul, after a convincing win over Wisconsin. They have won 2 straight, and look to be the top team in the West so far.


(3) Dayton Air Strikers  (5-1) -   The Air Strikers also have had a very good season,  losing on the road once, and dominating just about every other game. The Air Strikers have their sights set on Minneapolis, and have the team that can get there.


(4) Minnesota Rangers (4-2)  - Minnesota  had a big win at its rival home court to move up to 4-2 & establish themselves as a upper tier team in the MBL. Can they stay there in the 2nd half of the season? They have a great 1-2 punch offensively.

(5) Hamilton Heroes (4-3) - The Heroes have been consistently inconsistent,  which has somehow gotten them on the board. They have the talent to go far, but can they execute on the road and put it all together in the stretch run?




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West Recap: Fury continue to ride winning wave; Heroes get back on track

Heres the weekend results from around the MBL:

Xavier Nieves & Indiana Fury handling business 

 (EAST) 
The Fury rallies late, win 6th in a row

 The Fury continue their winning ways as they rallied late vs  the Northern Indiana Monarchs to win their 6th straight game, and stay atop the MBL East;
 After the Monarchs rallied to take the lead after the 3rd quarter, it looked as if the Fury would possibly fall and the Monarchs  would end their losing streak.

Not so fast.

  Xavier Nieves (34) & Zach Payton (38) led the Fury to a big 4th quarter, winning the quarter 42-36 & pulling out the win in a shootout 148-143.
 
  Nieves & Payton were unstoppable, and it showed as they took it upon themselves to lead the Fury to a big win on the road.
  Fury Head Coach Steven Thurber has been really happy with the play of his squad,  but this win ranks high on the list after the comeback and the cirumstances.
 Indiana moves to 6-1 while Northern Indiana falls to 1-5.



Heroes defeat Dream, move back over .500

   In getting trounced by the Air Strikers last week, the Hamilton Heroes felt a little embarrassed.

The Heroes bounced back with a complete team effort to defeat the Indiana Dream 114-83 as Guard Lamont Cole led the Heroes balanced effort with 21.

  While the game was close in the 1st half, Hamilton then poured it on in the 2nd half with a 62-40 advantage.

    Hamilton had 7 guys - yep that's right - 7
guys in double figures (with the 8th guy leading the team in assists)  as they put together their most complete game of the year.

   Hamilton has been up and down all year, and this week was their "Up Week" as they got it in gear.


 Hamilton now moves to 4-3 while the Dream fall to 0-7.  





(WEST) 

Chicago  comes back strong in 2nd half, stay atop West  
  Chicago, led by PG McKinley Bell and Johnathan Mills, held off a tough Wisconsin squad and put on a great 2nd half as the Fury defeated the Storm 122-100.
  Bell had 20 points, 8 dimes, 5 steals and 2 blocks while Mills led the Fury with 21 points & 25 boards.
  With the lead only 1 at half, the Fury kicked it into another gear and moved to 5-1 on the season. Wisconsin falls to 2-4.
   


Rangers win "Battle of  Minnesota"; move 1 game out of 1st place 
 With the state of Minnesota on the line, the Rangers took out the Broncos on their home court (Oxford Community Center) to win this round of the Battle of Minnesota.
  With the game tied at half, the Rangers came out in the 3rd quarter and set the tone, as they outscored the Broncos 40-30 in the 3rd quarter to gain control of the game.

   The duo of Dominique  Dawson (28 pts, 12 boards) & Rochester Rogers (20 pts, 9 reb, 6 assists) was too much for the Broncos.
The Broncos were led by Darius Campbell 32 points, 8 rebs, 7 steals, & 4 assists. 

 The Rangers move to 4-2 while the Broncos fall to  2-4.
 

Cedar Valley rolls past Lincoln

 The Court Kings took it to the new guys in the league, as they rolled over the Lincoln Lions at home at the Cedar Valley Sportsplex.

  Cedar Valley came out firing, scoring 35 in the 1st quarter & setting the tone (35-18 lead) as they won every quarter, and was up 20+ at half.

Forward Marvin Singleton  led the Court Kings with 21 points and 14 boards. 
 Cedar Valley had 6 guys in double figures. 

 Lincoln, who started the season in "Branding Mode", has shown they are ready for full season mode, and won their 1st game in the season.

 But Cedar Valley  wasn't having no celebrations by the Lions on their court.

 Cedar Valley moves to 3-3 while Lincoln falls to 1-1.

Thomasson, Mills grab Player of the Week Awards

MBL has announced that Dayton Air Strikers Joe Thomasson & Chicago Fury Johnathan Mills have been announced as the MBL Players of the Week.

Not your "Average Joe" as Thomasson grabs Player of the Week Award

Thomasson led the Air Strikers to a 110- 80 trouncing of Hamilton last weekend.

  Thomasson,  the Wright State grad, dropped 21 points, had 6 boards, 6 assists, and 2 blocks in a great all-around effort to lead the Air Strikers (5-1) to a big win & a tie for the MBL East lead.

  Thomasson, the smooth wingman, dominated on both ends of the court, and Hamilton had no answer for him.

Mills was beastly all day vs Chicago Clovers 

  Mills, the 6'6 power forward from Southern Miss, scored 29 Points and wrestled down a league-high 30 rebounds as the Fury held off the clovers 140 - 131 in the "Battle for Chicago"
 
Mills was completely unstoppable in the post,  and that was a huge key to another victory for the Fury, who now sit atop the MBL West (4-1).