BERNALILLO, NM – The Potawatomi Fire returned from the All-Star break with a tight 120-114 win over the Santa Ana Thunder.
The Fire started strong and looked like they might cruise to another win as they led Santa Ana 33-22 after the first quarter and 65-41 at halftime. However, The Thunder came storming back, eventually wiping out a 27-point Fire lead and taking a four-point lead (107-103) with 4:21 remaining in the game. But the Fire kept their composure and never panicked erasing that small deficit to win by six. The six-point victory is the Fire’s tightest victory of the season.
“I’m proud of the way our guys fought,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “We got too lax in the third quarter and that allowed them (Santa Ana) to get back in the game, but I thought we kept our composure and that our veteran leadership showed up big. Santa Ana played like I thought they would and made us work. Not every game will be easy and sometimes you have to win games like this to prove you’re capable of achieving the goals you set out to achieve.”
Jachai Simmons led the Fire with 27 points on the night. He also had six threes, which is tied for the second most in a single game in Fire history. Deshawn Munson also had a strong game to start the post-All Star game schedule with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Ricky Artis II showed again why he should be the front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals off the bench. K.D. Moore also recorded a double-double for the Fire with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Myron McGowan rounded out the players in double figures, scoring 11 off the bench. For the first time this season, Chuck Guy was held in single digits as he finished with eight points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals.
“We got some good effort from our veterans tonight,” said Dannhoff. “Chuck wasn’t scoring but he was still managing the game for us and knocked down some big free throws. Jachai was big tonight. He worked over the (All-Star) break to clean up his shot a bit and you saw that pay off tonight. Really, we needed a team effort tonight and we got it.”
A full box score is available here.
With the win the Fire are now 7-0 on the year. Up next, the Fire and Thunder will face each other once again tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at 4 PM CST/3 PM MST 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.