Finishing Strong
A.W. Prince | Share this:
Reach USA concluded their trip to China on a three-game winning streak, topping the Russian Peak All-Star squad twice in back to back games after taking the series against the Bayi Rockets 4 games to 3. Reach USA as led by Nevada assistant Dennis Gates, plus the scoring of Wolf Pack sophomore scorer Malik Story.
SilverandBlueSports previously updated fans on the series with the Bayi Rockets, which ended in an exciting fashion for the American squad who took home the series win after a decisive Game 7 victory.
Game 8 Recap
Reach USA 98 Russian Peak All Stars 78 – Shinshou, China
Trailing early, but taking the lead at the 4:16 mark, Reach USA jumped on the Russian Peak All-Stars 98-78. The Russian team is made up of 12 all stars from the pro leagues in Russian that are on an 8 game tour. They were 2-0 coming into this contest.
Reach put together a complete game with 4 guys in double figures led by Carlton Fay with 21. Josh Harrellson added 13, and Peyton Siva and Skylar McBee tossed in 12 apiece. Harrellson grabbed a team high 12 rebounds while Siva joined the double- double night with 11 assists.
Game 9 Recap
Reach USA 70 Russian Peak All Stars 69 – Jingmen, China
Trailing by one with 3.4 seconds to go, Peyton Siva went coast-to-coast for a twisting layup game winner over a 7-foot-4 Russian center which pushed Reach USA past the Russian Peak All-Stars in a thrilling 70-69 win.
In a game that was sloppy from the outset, the Russian team controlled the tempo with their size and ability to get to the offensive glass. The upset was in the making as the Reach team could not hit anything from the field and was in foul trouble much of the game. With 5:45 to go the Russians led by five.
But the US team battled back to take a one-point lead. Carlton Fay then hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Reach a two point edge. With 5 seconds on the clock a last ditch shot stuck between the rim and backboard and Peak had possession. On the inbounds play, a lob to the 7’ 4” big man found the bottom of the net and Reach fouled. After a made free throw with 3.4, the stage was set for Siva’s fantastic finish.
Driving through two defenders, he used his lower half to shield the big Russian and kissed it off the glass for the winner. Siva led the victorious squad with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists. Josh Harrellson was the only other Reach member in double figures with 11.
Reach USA closed the trip with a 6-3 record.
Of note for Nevada fans, Malik Story sprained his ankle in the final game against the Bayi Rockets. However, he played in Game 8 and Game 9 against the Russian team, so it appears to be nothing significant.
Below are the final stats for the entire trip for Reach USA;
|
NAME |
FG-FGA |
FG% |
3P-3PA |
3P% |
FT-FTA |
FT% |
ORB +DRB=TRB |
AVG |
|
BARNES |
15-42 |
35.7 |
2-11 |
18.2 |
6-10 |
60.0 |
13 +16=29 |
3.2 |
|
FAY |
25-47 |
53.2 |
10-20 |
50.0 |
10-17 |
58.8 |
9 + 31=40 |
4.4 |
|
HARRELLSON |
54-92 |
58.7 |
5-13 |
38.5 |
5-15 |
33.3 |
38 + 45=83 |
9.2 |
|
HOOD |
21-65 |
32.3 |
3-21 |
14.3 |
3-3 |
100.0 |
11 + 28=39 |
4.3 |
|
KOWAL |
18-34 |
52.9 |
1-3 |
33.3 |
4-7 |
57.1 |
15 + 17=32 |
3.6 |
|
MCBEE |
25-59 |
42.4 |
19-39 |
48.7 |
4-6 |
66.7 |
2 + 15=17 |
1.9 |
|
PETTIGREW |
35-60 |
58.3 |
2-3 |
66.7 |
11-16 |
68.8 |
15 + 5=20 |
2.2 |
|
SILAS |
25-60 |
41.7 |
1-15 |
06.7 |
10-15 |
66.7 |
8 +17=25 |
2.8 |
|
SIVA |
26-74 |
35.1 |
4-31 |
12.9 |
12-22 |
54.5 |
2 + 30= 32 |
3.6 |
|
STORY |
30-83 |
36.1 |
11-27 |
40.7 |
9-11 |
81.8 |
8 + 27=35 |
3.9 |
|
WILLIAMS |
31-65 |
47.7 |
4-13 |
30.7 |
6-8 |
75.0 |
16 + 30-46 |
5.1 |
| NAME | A | AVG | TO | AVG | S | AVG | BS | AVG | PF | TP | AVG |
| BARNES | 7 | 0.8 | 10 | 1.1 | 7 | 0.8 | 1 | 0.1 | 10 | 38 | 4.2 |
| FAY | 5 | 0.6 | 6 | 0.7 | 8 | 0.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 29 | 70 | 7.8 |
| HARRELLSON | 6 | 0.7 | 4 | 0.4 | 12 | 1.3 | 12 | 1.3 | 28 | 118 | 13.1 |
| HOOD | 26 | 2.9 | 12 | 1.3 | 12 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 17 | 48 | 5.3 |
| KOWAL | 7 | 0.8 | 4 | 0.4 | 3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 17 | 41 | 4.6 |
| MCBEE | 23 | 2.6 | 14 | 1.6 | 9 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 22 | 73 | 8.1 |
| PETTIGREW | 10 | 1.1 | 9 | 1.0 | 4 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.2 | 18 | 83 | 9.2 |
| SILAS | 15 | 1.7 | 10 | 1.1 | 7 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.3 | 17 | 61 | 6.8 |
| SIVA | 49 | 5.4 | 20 | 2.2 | 14 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.4 | 11 | 68 | 7.6 |
| STORY | 25 | 2.8 | 21 | 2.3 | 11 | 1.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 21 | 80 | 8.9 |
| WILLIAMS | 14 | 1.6 | 10 | 1.1 | 21 | 2.3 | 6 | 0.7 | 17 | 72 | 8.0 |
The anchors for the Reach USA squad were Josh Harrellson (Kentucky), Malik Story (Nevada) and Steffphon Pettigrew (Western Kentucky). The roster also included the aforementioned Siva (Louisville) and Fay (Southern Illinois), plus Xavier Silas (Northern Illinois), Brandon Barnes (Lipscomb), Jon Hood (Kentucky), Sean Kowal (Northern Illinois), Skylar McBee (Tennessee) and Jeremy Williams (UTEP). All players averaged double-digits in minutes during the series.
