WICHITA, KS – It was another dominant performance by the Fire on Friday night as they beat the Wichita SkyKings 152-126 to stay perfect on the season.

Playing without starters K.D. Moore (abdominal/groin injury) and Deshawn Munson (hand injury), the Fire needed other guys to step up and they did as seven players scored in double figures to pace the Fire to a wire-to-wire victory.

“Without K.D. and Deshawn we needed other guys to really play well, and they did,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “It was good to see us get out to a fast start tonight. We also got to play with some new lineups and see some new combos.”

The Fire got off to a hot start on Friday scoring the game’s first six points. They were able to extend that lead out to nine (39-30) at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Fire put the game away. They scored 49 points in the second quarter and shot over 71% from the field in the second. Throughout the first half, the Fire dominated inside, scoring 64 points in the paint. For the game, the Fire scored 110 points in the paint.

“We did a great job working the ball inside,” said Dannhoff. “We were aggressive getting the ball inside and did a great job turning our defense into offense. Our offense is at its best when we are attacking inside, and we did that well tonight.”

Individually, Ricky Artis II scored 41 points, tied for fourth most in a single game in Fire history. Artis also had six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Chuck Guy had another MVP-worthy game with 24 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, and two steals.

“Ricky and Chuck were great tonight,” said Dannhoff. “Ricky has been arguably the best sixth man in the league this season. He just does so much to help our second unit. We’ve needed him to start the past couple of games and he showed why he’s one of the most versatile players in our league. What else can I say about Chuck? He’s been the best player in this league for a long time and keeps showing repeatedly what a high-caliber player he is.”

Isaiah Wade finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. Jachai Simmons finished with 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists. T.J. Maston had 15 points and five rebounds on the night as he got the start in place of Munson. Ruston Hayward nearly finished with a triple-double off the bench with 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Finally, Paul Harrison finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in his first real action as a member of the Fire this season.

The Fire’s 152 points were just three points shy of the team record of 155 points, set in 2023 versus Oklahoma. The dominant effort against Wichita also established a new club single game record for most field goals made with 63, and were just shy of team records for assists (40) and field goal percentage (62.4%).

A full box score is available here.

With the win, the Fire improved to 18-0 on the year. Up next, the Fire will host the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks next Thursday, May 23. That game will tipoff at 7 PM inside FireLake Arena in Shawnee. You can watch a live stream of the game on TBL TV or listen to the game on KGFF Radio (100.9 FM/1450 AM/KGFF.com).

Be sure to follow the Fire on social media (Instagram, Facebook, X) to stay up to date with all the latest information on the Fire.

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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, now with 38 teams across the U.S. and Canada. Along with winning the TBL championship in 2023, 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.

The TBL season begins in February and runs through June, concluding with a championship playoff tournament. The players that make up the rosters of the TBL teams are former NCAA (Division I, II or III) or NAIA athletes. Many have played in the NBA’s developmental G-League and/or professionally overseas.

Story by Chris Cox / Photos by Garret Fisbeck