SHAWNEE, OK – The Potawatomi Fire closed out the regular season in dominating fashion on Saturday defeating Creating Young Minds (CYM) 133-97. The Fire finished the regular season 19-1 and will the top overall seed in the upcoming TBL Playoffs.
While the Fire won fairly convincingly, it wasn’t always easy, especially in the first half. CYM trailed by just three points after one quarter and by just eight at halftime. The Fire then used a strong third quarter to pull away before eventually extending the lead even further in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t think we started all that well,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “A lot of credit has to go to CYM. They are scrappy and play a style that we don’t see a lot but I also felt like we could have played better at the start. We have a fairly big roster and CYM doesn’t. That forced some of our bigs into some uncomfortable situations. Thankfully, we were able to adjust and play some small ball to get the win.”
Reigning TBL MVP Chuck Guy led the Fire with 27 points, 4 rebounds, 17 assists, 7 steals, and a block as he again filled up the stat sheet. Isaiah Wade was also big for the Fire as he finished with 21 points, 19 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, and a block off the bench. Ricardo Artis II also had a good game for the Fire as he finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Artis II is now just 23 points away from 2,000 in his TBL career.
“Those guys were great tonight,” said Dannhoff. “Chuck and Ricky are so competitive on both ends of the floor and both guys demand that of their teammates as well. When they are on the floor, the level of our play almost always goes up. Isaiah has also been tremendous for us all year coming off the bench. He provides so much energy and creates so many of his opportunities with his ability to rebound. With CYM’s style of play, we needed his energy tonight and he delivered.”
Two other players finished with at least 12 points for the Fire. Kam Williams had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal while Jay Hedgeman finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds.
A full box score is available here.
With the win, the Fire finish the regular season at 19-1 on the season. Up next, the Fire begin their postseason run and quest for a third straight TBL title. The Fire will face the Enid Outlaws in the first round. Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday, May 29th at 7 PM in Enid. Game 2 will take place Saturday, May 31st at FireLake Arena in Shawnee with tipoff set for 7 PM. Game 3, if necessary, will take place Sunday, June 1st at FireLake Arena with the tipoff time to be determined.
Tickets for Games 2 and 3 are available now at potawatomifire.com/tickets. You can watch a live stream of the game at tbltv.tv or listen live on KGFF Radio (100.9 FM/1450 AM).
To stay up to date with all the latest news and notes regarding the Potawatomi Fire, follow the team on social media. You can follow the Fire on Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
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ABOUT THE POTAWATOMI FIRE
The Potawatomi Fire are the first professional basketball team owned by a Native American tribe (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) in Oklahoma. The Fire compete in the Central Conference of The Basketball League (TBL), a men’s professional basketball league, with roughly 40 teams across the U.S. and Canada. The Fire play their home games at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Through their first three years, the Fire have established themselves as the premier franchise in TBL. Along with winning the TBL championship in 2023 and 2024, the Fire organization was named the 2022 winner of the Jim Koch Award as TBL’s Best Ran Business. The dance team of the Fire, the Fire Girls, were named TBL’s 2022 Best Dance Team and Central Conference Best Dance Team in 2023 and 2024.