MONROE — The Edmonton Chill are red-hot.
After starting the season late, the International Basketball League expansion team opened with a pair of losses, but have since run off four straight victories and supplanted the Snohomish County Explosion in third place in the Western Division.
Snohomish County (9-6) dropped six of 10 games before regrouping with back-to-back triumphs. Now the Explosion has an opportunity to regain third place when they visit Edmonton for games tonight and Saturday.
It won’t be easy for a Snohomish County team that is just 1-3 away from the comfortable confines of its Monroe High School home court.
“We haven’t had a lot of success on the road,” Snohomish County coach Randy Redwine acknowledged.
Redwine knows little about an Edmonton team that is led by small forward J.R. Patrick (22.5 points per game) and point guard Rashaun Broadus (22.0).
Patrick and Broadus rank No. 12 and No. 14, respectively, in the IBL. Broadus also averages 6.5 assists per game to rank No. 10.
“I just know what I read,” Redwine said. “We’re going in blindfolded. We’ll just have to adjust to what they do.”
The Explosion will take only nine players to Edmonton and will be without their leading rebounder Justin White (No. 4 in the IBL with 11.2 per game) center Alex Adediran and others who have commitments to their primary employers. Center David White remains out with back and ankle injuries.
Defense does not rest: Redwine was ecstatic about holding Central Oregon, the IBL’s No. 1 scoring team, to 90 points in last Saturday’s 116-90 victory.
“We tried something different. We call it swarming,” Redwine said. “Instead of just sitting back on defense, we were jumping at guys and making them try to shoot over us.”
Point guard Jamal Miller agreed the extra effort paid off.
“Our defense really stepped up,” Miller said. “When that happens, it’s going to be very hard for anyone to beat us.”
Passing fancy: Redwine was delighted about the 28 assists the Explosion had against Shanxi May 17 and the 29 against Central Oregon last Saturday.
“That’s something we’ve got to do in order to be successful,” Redwine said. “We need to build on that effort and make that our trademark.”
Fitting in nicely: Center Alex Adediran, who did not play in the first quarter of last Saturday’s victory over Central Oregon, scored 13 points in the first six minutes of the second quarter and helped the Explosion gain a comfortable double-digit lead.
“I just wanted to get into the flow,” Adediran said. “I got warmed up and started playing like I’m capable of playing.”
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