ENID, OK – The Potawatomi Fire started off their quest for a third straight TBL Championship with an impressive 122-98 victory over the Enid Outlaws in Game 1 of the Central Division Finals. The win puts the Fire up 1-0 in the best of three series.
“I thought we came out really focused,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “Enid fought hard and never gave up. They made some shots early, but we stuck with our game plan and didn’t lose focus tonight. This was a very good win on the road against a very good team.”
The Fire started the game on a 5-0 run before Enid answered with a 12-0 run of their own in the first quarter. From there, the game was back and forth until the 6-minute mark in the 2nd quarter. From there, the Fire went on a 15-2 run to end the half and take the lead for good. The Fire would extend the lead out further in the third to put the game to rest.
The win was head coach Mark Dannhoff’s 100th career win in TBL. Dannhoff, who coached one year in Enid prior to joining the Fire, has put together an impressive resume in just four years as a TBL head coach. Not only does he have a career record of 100-11, but he has also led the Fire to the last two TBL Championships and has won the last two TBL Coach of the Year awards.
“That’s a special number,” Dannhoff said. “It speaks to so much more than just me as a coach. It speaks to the organization I’m a part of and the support they give me and the team. It also speaks to the players who work hard in practice every day so we can come out and play at a high-level during games. It’s a nice achievement but one that’s not possible without everything and everyone around me.”
Ricardo Artis II led the Fire in scoring with 23 points. Those 23 points put Artis II at 2,000 points in his TBL career, making him the third active Fire player to reach that milestone. Artis II also had 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the win.
“Ricky is such a special player,” said Dannhoff. “He does so much for this team with his leadership and his defense that I think it’s easy to forget he’s such a good scorer. But Ricky has worked every year to become a more complete player and I think you’re seeing that this year> I’m happy he reach that milestone tonight.”
Joining Artis II in double-figure scoring was Chuck Guy. Guy had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and a pair of steals. Off the bench, Jay Hedgeman recorded 17 points and 8 rebounds. Kam Williams and Ke’Tarrious Bouchum each finished with 10. Bouchum also grabbed 5 rebounds.
A full box is available here.
“It was really a team effort tonight,” said Dannhoff. “Every guy got to play and everyone scored. We got contributions from all 12 guys tonight and we will need to continue that if we want to move forward through these playoffs.”
The Fire, who lead the series 1-0, will face Enid in Game 2 on Saturday. That game will take place at FireLake Arena in Shawnee with tipoff set for 7 PM. 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).
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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.