SHAWNEE, OK – The Potawatomi Fire are champs once again! The Fire beat the Tri-City Tide 125-110 on Friday night to claim their fourth straight TBL title. The Fire also finished off their second undefeated season, finishing the year 24-0.
“I’m so proud of this team,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “All year long we’ve had a target on our back and got everybody’s best effort and every single game these guys answered the call. I’m just so incredibly proud of all of these guys.”
Tri-City did not go down without a fight. The Tide started the game strong, building as much as a 10-point lead in the first quarter (19-9) before the Fire brought it back to three going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Fire went on a 13-0 to retake a double-digit lead. Throughout the second half, the Tide remained tough and while the ultimately could not overtake the Fire, the Tide made the Fire work hard for the win.
“I have to give a lot of credit to the Tide,” said Dannhoff. “That was a very good team that we beat and I think their future is very bright. There is a lot of talent on that roster and Coach McKillop did a great job getting them ready to play this season. They should be very proud of the season they had”
Following the game, Jahmal McMurray was named TBL Finals MVP. McMurray averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in the Finals. In Game 2, McMurray scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists.
Ricardo Artis II led the Fire in scoring in the series clincher finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, and two assists. K.D. Moore finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Chuck Guy finished with 19 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds. Willie Warren scored 12 points, all in the second half, while handing out six assists and grabbing four rebounds.
Off the bench, TBL’s 6th Man of the Year, Isaiah Wade, scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Fire. Following the game, Wade proposed to his girlfriend Triniti and she said “yes.”
A full box score is available here.
With the win, the Fire capped off their second undefeated season in the last three years finishing 24-0. The Fire also extended their overall win streak to 45 games and their home winning streak to 68 games.
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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 four years, the Fire have established themselves as the premier franchise in TBL. Along with winning the TBL championship in 2023, 2024 and 2025, 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 Best Dance Team in 2022 and 2025. The Fire Girls were also named the Central Conference Best Dance Team in 2023 and 2024.
