Deverell Biggs nets 27 points to lead Rochester to its ninth win of the season.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester RazorSharks notcheda 112-92 victory over the Ohio Bootleggers in Premier Basketball League action on Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena. It marked the expansion Bootleggers’ first-ever trip to the Flower City.
With the victory, Rochester (9-2) moved to within one game of the first-place Kentucky Mavericks (10-1).
In their first meeting in Columbus, Rochester overcame a 21-point, third-quarter deficit, to post a 10-point victory overthe Bootleggers. The story of this night’s game was a bit different. Rochester was able to bounce back after getting off to a slow start, trailing by 10 early in the first. But by the end of the quarter, the Sharks took a narrow 18-17 lead.
It wasn’t until later in the second stanza that the game opened up for the Sharks. Deverell Biggs came off the bench and set the place on fire. He had a quick 15 points in the quarter to put the RazorSharks up 45-37 heading into intermission.
The Sharks got right back into their rhythm in the third period with the help of veterans Jerice Crouch, Dele Coker, and Melvin Council. Crouch and Council both came out of halftime with hot hands, scoring 7 points each, while Crouch dished out 3 assists as Melvin contributed 4 assists.
Coker collected 8 more points and grabbed 3 rebounds. By the end of the third, the Sharks outscored the Bootleggers, 30-21, for a 75-58 advantage.
The final period was very high scoring as Ohio and Rochester tallied 34 and 37 points, respectively.
Biggs paced the Sharks with 12 points in the period as he received the John Betlem Heating and Cooling Player of the Game honors with a team-high 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Coker had his best game of the year, scoring 17 with 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Jordan Railey contributed 13 points and 5 rebounds, as Crouch put together a nice game with 12 points and 5 assists. John Ivy and Rashard McGill did great jobs distributing the ball to their teammates with 6 assists each.
Ohio’s Bernard Edwards scored a game-high 36 points, while three Bootleggers followed him with 12 each: Brett McKnight, Cody Ballard, and Tihon Johnson.
The RazorSharks next game will be Thursday night, March 2 at 7 pm in a rematch with the Ohio Bootleggers for their final meeting of the regular season.
Tickets to Thursday’s game can be purchased now at the Blue Cross Arena box office, or by calling the RazorSharks office at 585-232-9190.