Rochester holds off the Kentucky Mavericks, 95-94, in Game 3 of the series.
ROCHESTER, N.Y.– The Premier Basketball League tonight crowned the Rochester Razorsharks the 2017 Champions after holding off their rival Kentucky Mavericks 95-94 to win their fourth consecutive title. Based on their performances in the PBL Finals, Corey Allmond and Jerice Crouch were named Co-MVP’s of the PBL Finals.
The final contest of the season started quickly for the Mavericks as Josh Johnson was able to get Kentucky out to an early lead. Nick Waddell continued his excellent series play with some defensive stops and a few put backs to help the Mavericks post a 6 point lead after the first quarter, 28-22. As the second period started, Rochester slowly chipped away at the Mavericks lead behind their bench play of Deverell Biggs and Sidney Holmes. John Ivy played outstanding defense to help keep the Razorsharks in the ball game and at the half, the game was tied at 47 all.
With 24 minutes left in the PBL season, both Kentucky and Rochester stepped up their effort and made this a half for the record books. The Razorsharks won the quarter 28-24 to give them a 75-71 lead. Jerice Crouch continued to attack the basket and veteran Melvin Council made some clutch long range jumpers to keep the Razorsharks in the lead. Not to be outdone, Nick Waddell and Stan Simpson started to dominate in the paint for the Mavericks. Several times the game was tied in the closing minutes before Kentucky was finally able to take a 94-93 lead after a Nick Waddell bucket in the post. With 20 seconds left in the game, Rochester called timeout to draw up the most important play of their season.
The Razorsharks came out of the timeout looking to get the ball in the post and were successful. Jerice Crouch was able to get the ball to Jordan Railey and he was able to score on a hook shot that bounced around the rim multiple times before falling in. Now it was Kentucky’s turn to try to win the ball game. Nick Waddell had the first chance as the Mavericks hoped that lightning strikes twice with another post-up. Waddell drove to the middle but Jordan Railey stepped up, this time on the defensive end, as he blocked the Waddell shot out of bounds with 2.3 seconds left. The Mavericks ran an excellent play for sharpshooter Ben Vozzola in the left corner for a long three attempt, but the shot was long and the Razorsharks won their fourth championship 95-94.
Melvin Council had 22 points to lead all scorers. Crouch added 18 points and Allmond had 12 points in the win.
Stan Simpson led Kentucky with 21 points in the loss. Waddell netted 18 points as Robert Crawford chipped in 15 points.
In the PBL Finals series, both Kentucky and Rochester each scored 295 points, with each winning 6 quarters and tying one quarter. Both teams were evenly matched, with the winning margin of victory being three, two, and one respectively. This was truly a series for the ages.
“This series could arguably go down as the best ever in PBL history,” stated PBL Commissioner Dennis Truax. “Kentucky and Rochester put on a great series for the fans. Each game was an instant classic and both teams had multiple chances to capture the PBL title. What a great way to end our season with such great games. Congratulations to both franchises for such a hard fought series and to Rochester for winning their fourth straight title.”
2017 PBL All-PLAYOFF TEAM
CO-MVP – Jerice Crouch – Rochester Razorsharks
CO-MVP – Corey Allmond – Rochester Razorsharks
Stan Simpson – Kentucky Mavericks
Nick Waddell – Kentucky Mavericks
Christian Davis – Jamestown Jackals
Bernard Edwards – Ohio Bootleggers