ALTUS, OK – Another night, another dominant performance, and another record broken. For the second time in eight days the Potawatomi Fire grounded the Western Oklahoma Skykings, winning 146-75. The 71-point margin of victory is the largest in Fire history besting the previous record of 69 points set against the Oklahoma Panthers in March of 2023.
The Skykings scored the first basket of the game to take a 2-0 lead but from there, it was all Fire. Following that opening bucket, the Fire went on a 22-2 run to take a commanding lead. The Fire led 38-14 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 78-30 at halftime.
“We played very well from start to finish,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “At halftime I told the guys to keep the intensity up, keep our foot on the gas, and focus on what we want to do. When you’re up big at halftime, it’s easy to let up but I thought we did a good job not letting up tonight.”
As a team the Fire shot 52.2% from the field, hit 39.2% of their threes, and were 30 of 32 from the free throw line. The 93.8% free throw clip was the highest in team history. Conversely, Western Oklahoma shot just 36.0% from the field, 18.2% from three, and hit just 46.7% of their free throws. The Skykings also turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 31 Fire points.
“We did a good job taking advantage of their turnovers,” said Dannhoff. “Our defensive intensity has been fantastic, and I thought we were great on that end of the floor. That led to some easy points for us. Offensively, when we did get into our sets, I thought we moved the ball, were unselfish, and knocked down shots.”
Individually, the Fire had eight players finish in double figures, led by Chuck Guy and Kam Williams, who each finished with 23 points. Guy also finished with a team high 9 assists and 2 steals. Isaiah Wade finished with a season-high 20 points to go along with 7 rebounds, and a pair of steals. Paul Harrison and Jaylen Mahone each finished with 15 points while Deshawn Munson and Jay Hedgeman each finished with 14. Finally, Jachai Simmons finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals before leaving the game in the third quarter.
A full box score is available here.
Through four games the Fire are now beating their opponents by an average of 53.3 points per game.
The win on Sunday improved the Fire’s record to 4-0 on the year and also extended their TBL-record winning streak to 34 games, a streak that dates back to the 2023 season.
Up next, the undefeated Fire will hit the road to take on the 3-2 Little Rock Lightning this coming Friday, March 21st. This will be the second meeting between these two teams. The Fire won the first meeting 112-61 on March 2nd. Friday’s game will take place at Hall High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. 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.