GREAT FALLS, MT – A classic. That was how to describe Game 1 of the Western Regional Finals as the Potawatomi Fire beat the Great Falls Electric 124-122 in double overtime on Friday night.
The Fire started the game about as bad as they could, missing their first nine shots and falling into a 10-0 hole. The Fire were able to battle back and eventually tie the game at 16-16 before Great Falls went on a 6-0 run to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Fire could never fully reel the Electric in. Every time the Fire got close, Great Falls would go on a run to extend that lead back out taking an 11-point lead into halftime.
“We did not play well to start,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “We didn’t defend the ball screen well on defense and offensively we just could make a shot. We had good looks and took good shots, they just weren’t falling.”
In the first half, the Fire shot just 34% from the field and were just 1-17 from behind the three-point line.
In the third quarter, the Fire started to try and work their way back in the game but, again, every time the Fire would start to pull close, Great Falls would extend the lead back out. In that third quarter, Great Falls led by as many as 15 before the Fire were able to climb back and cut the lead to 10 going into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, Jachai Simmons finally got a couple of threes to fall and the Fire started to find a bit of a rhythm on offense and were able to tie the game 83-83 with 7:24 to go in the fourth. But again, Great Falls answered, this time with an 8-0 run to take a 91-83 lead with just 4:55 remaining. From there, the Fire went on to outscore Great Falls 18-10 to tie the game at 101-101 and send the game to overtime.
In OT 1, Great Falls jumped out to a quick 5-point lead but the Fire did not panic and quickly answered right back. The Fire finally took their first lead of the game in overtime (111-10) on a Ricky Artis II layup. Great Falls though answered with a three and then the Fire made a couple of free throws down the stretch to send the game to a second overtime.
In OT 2, the Fire’s leaders, Chuck Guy and Artis II, would not let the Fire lose as they combined to score all 11 points and close out the crucial Game 1 victory.
Guy, who played all 58 minutes, led the Fire with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists, and 3 steals.
A full box score is available here.
“This was a true team win,” said Dannhoff. “I know Chuck led the way and made some big shots down the stretch, but we wouldn’t have been in that situation without Simmons hitting big threes, and Paul (Harrison) battling down low. (Deshawn) Munson and Ricky also had their moments. Then K.T. (Bouchum), (Jay) Hedgeman, and Isaiah Wade off the bench all gave good minutes and made big plays for us. This was a true team win tonight.”
With the win, the Fire take a 1-0 series lead over Great Falls in the Western Regional Finals and are now just three wins shy of the first ever three-peat in The Basketball League.
Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Sunday at 7 PM inside FireLake Arena in Shawnee. Tickets are available now at potawatomifire.com/tickets. You can also 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 the Fire, 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.