SHAWNEE, OK – The Potawatomi Fire are headed back to the TBL Finals. The Fire clinched their fourth straight trip to the Finals after winning the West Regional Championship for the fourth straight year beating the 4 Bears Roar 137-124 on Sunday night.
The Fire started the game strong once again opening up an early 9-1 to lead and eventually leading by as many as 13 in the first quarter. But the Roar fought back and cut the Fire lead to just five (29-24) heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Fire were able to extend their lead further stretching it out to as many as 14 (50-36) and ultimately led 57-44 going into halftime.
In the third, the Fire looked like they were going to run away with the game. The Fire stretched the lead out to as many as 18 late in the third quarter but the Roar closed the quarter out strong outscoring the Fire 8-2 in the final 1:42 to cut the lead to 12 going into the fourth quarter.
The final frame was similar to the third quarter with the Fire building a big lead before the Roar whittled the lead down to eight. The Fire though responded and put the game away to clinch their fourth straight title.
“I’m so proud of this team,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “I told them that we would face adversity at some point in this game. When it came, I thought we handled ourselves well and fought through it. The Roar are a really good team and it took our best efforts to get these wins.”
Despite the effort given by the Roar, the Fire never trailed earning their 10th wire-to-wire win and their third of the postseason.
Ricardo Artis II led the Fire with 27 points on the night. He also had seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals, all while playing on a sore knee.
Jay Hedgeman had his most productive game this postseason finishing with 22 points and nine boards. Hedgeman was also 10-12 from the free throw line.
Off the bench, Jahmal McMurray had another big game finishing with 22 points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists. McMurray averaged 24 points and six rebounds in the West Regional finals.
Chuck Guy recorded his 11th double-double of the season finishing with 21 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, and four steals. Willie Warren scored 18 points and dished out six assists on the night. Rounding out the starters, K.D. Moore finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Off the bench, Isaiah Wade scored 12 and grabbed three rebounds as he dealt with foul trouble most of the night.
A full box score is available here.
“Everyone guy contributed to this win,” said Dannhoff. “You don’t beat a good team like the Roar without everyone playing their role. That might be in practice while we prepare or during the game but everyone on this team played a role in us winning this series and moving on to the Finals.”
With the win, the Fire are now 22-0 on the season. They have also won 43 consecutive games overall and 66 straight games at FireLake Arena.
Up next, the Fire will take on the Tri-City Tide in the TBL Finals. Dates, times, and locations of the Finals will be announced later.
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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.
