Edmonton 127, Portland 124
Portland was the defending Western Conference Champion, and featured the league’s leading scorer in former Oregon State forward David Lucas, but history and a league scoring champ wasn’t enough against a resilient Edmonton Chill Friday night.
The Chill trailed by three heading into the final quarter and by six with 3:40 left, but rallied for a three-point victory in the first round of the International Basketball League Western Conference Playoffs.
Edmonton (13-8), the No. 4 seed in the West, plays top seeded Bellingham (16-4) in today’s 5 p.m. semifinal. Portland ends its season at 14-15.
Portland led 118-112 late in the game, but Edmonton battled back and took the lead for good on a J.R. Patrick 3-pointer with 1:11 to play. Patrick, a 6-foot-5 forward, scored a team-high 31 points, including 10 in the final quarter. After a Portland turnover, Stephen Parker made it a three-point lead with a layup.
The Chinooks had two looks at 3-point attempts in the final seconds, but both missed.
“They’re an excellent team and we fully expected it to go down to the wire,” said Parker, who scored 21 points. “It’s the playoffs and everybody is trying hard and after that same thing; the championship. We knew it was going to be tough and we pulled it off today.”
After scoring just two points in the first quarters, Lucas finished strong to lead all scorers with 38 points.
Portland Chinooks26363527—124
Edmonton Chill28372933—127
Portland—Bubba Tolliver 13, Larry Smith 14, Dean Browne 9, Robert Day 16, David Fisher 4, David Lucas 38, J.R. Moore 2, Kenny Tate 28.
Edmonton—Rashaun Broadus 16, Andrew Parker 2, Stephen Parker 21, Achuil Lual 2, J.R. Patrick 31, Jeff Dunn 14, Marco Morgan 10, Lee Scruggs 29, Antwon Mills 2.
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