BELLEVUE – For seven of the Everett Explosion players it was a reunion of sorts; for those same players and the rest of the Everett roster, it was still business as usual.
Despite returning to the place most of them had begun their International Basketball League careers, the Everett Explosion didn’t treat the Seattle Mountaineers any different than they’ve treated most of their opponents this season.
Everett used tough perimeter defense and got 30 points from Rashaad Powell to run away from the Mountaineers 125-99 in an IBL game played at Bellevue Community College Friday night.
An IBL all-star last season while playing for the Mountaineers, Powell scored 12 of his 30 in the final quarter to help the Explosion slow down a late game push by Seattle.
“To me it was another game. A game you want to win, I try not to think about all that other stuff,” Powell said.
The expansion Explosion (5-2) has seven players from last year’s Mountaineers roster and Seattle’s former head coach Randy Redwine.
The Explosion expected there to be some animosity going into the game and throughout the first quarter there were times when it showed.
“They were playing overly physical,” Powell said.
Was the intensity level a little higher because of the relationship between the two franchises?
“It definitely was there,” Redwine said.
Behind eight points from Powell and seven each by former Mountaineer Donald Watts and point guard Darrell Walker, the Explosion jumped out to a 33-18 first quarter lead, two of which came on an explosive one-handed jam from Shadrach Roome.
Roome, perhaps the Explosions most exciting player, flew in from the perimeter grabbing the offensive rebound and slamming it through the hoop.
Everett would take its biggest lead of the night, grabbing a 28-point 63-35 lead in the second quarter and taking a 20-point 66-46 lead into halftime.
Watts scored 10 of his 22 points in the second half.
The Mountaineers wouldn’t roll over easy though.
Seattle answered back in the third, cutting Everett’s lead to 11 points twice in the quarter most coming on put-backs from offensive rebounds.
“Basketball is a game of runs. They’re going to make a run and we’re going to make a run. It’s just about how we’re going to react to their run,” Powell said.
Everett would bounce back by scoring 36 in the final quarter including seven from newly signed backup point guard Jamal Miller.
“We found our niche and turned it on,” Redwine said of his team’s run.
Miller, or “Thriller” Miller as Powell referred to him, scored 15 in his Explosion debut.
“I just wanted to step in and adjust, I tried to fit right in,” Miller said.
“He’s a heckuva player,” Redwine said of his new player.
Lemar Gayle led Seattle with 30 points. Former Explosion Antwon Jones, who was cut by the Explosion last Friday after a post-game blowup, scored six for the Mountaineers.
During the pregame warm-ups, Jones walked up to Redwine and shook his hand.
“We’re still good friends,” Redwine said.
David White led the Explosion with eight rebounds and Watts grabbed seven.
About 200 people were in attendance, over half rooted for Everett and the seven players that made their reunion a victorious one.
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