Recap
SHAWNEE, OK – It was a record-setting night inside FireLake Arena on Saturday as the Fire beat the Enid Outlaws 130-107.
“I was really pleased with our energy tonight and the way we started the game,” said Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff. “I thought the bench came in and continued to give us good energy on both ends. I was just really pleased with our performance tonight and over these four games in nine days.”
The win was not only the Fire’s 15th win of the season, but it was also their 15th straight victory in 2024 to tie The Basketball League record for most consecutive wins in a single season. Ironically, the Fire now share the record with the team they beat tonight, the Enid Outlaws. Enid won 15 straight en route to the TBL title in 2021. The win also extends their TBL home winning streak to 31 games.
“This streak is a credit to these guys,” said Dannhoff. “I am so proud of these guys. We don’t talk about it all. We don’t talk about it in practice or in pregame or postgame. What I am so proud of is that at the beginning of the year, we said, ‘these are our goals,’ and everyone has been willing to sacrifice to go after these goals. This team probably faces more pressure every night than any other team in TBL. Not only do we have the streak but we are the defending champs, and everyone wants to be the team to beat you. For these guys to show up every day, accept that responsibility, and represent CPN (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) and Shawnee just makes me so proud of this group.”
Beyond the team record of the 15-game win streak, Chuck Guy made individual history scoring a Fire record 55 points on the night. He surpassed Deshawn Munson, who previously held the record with 48 points. Along with the 55 points, Guy finished with 10 assists, seven rebounds, and a pair of steals. Guy also set Fire single game records for most three-point attempts (17) and most field goal attempts (32). He nearly set single game records for three-point makes and field goals made as well.
“Chuck is a special, special player,” said Dannhoff. “A lot of times when you talk about special players it’s on one end or the other but with Chuck, it’s both. He can score at all three levels but that’s not even what he wants to do. He wants to get his teammates involved and would prefer to get the assist than the points, but tonight was his night. I’m so proud of him and also the other guys who really embraced his success tonight.”
While Guy was the headliner for the Fire on Saturday, K.D. Moore continued his hot play with 32 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Off the bench, Ricky Artis II finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. T.J. Maston put together one of his best games of the season with 12 points and a season-high nine rebounds.
“K.D. has really been playing well on the offensive end,” said Dannhoff. “He’s really pressuring the rim both in transition and in the half court. Ricky gave us great minutes tonight. And I’m really pleased for T.J., who has struggled for a while. Tonight was as good as I’ve seen him in a while and if he can continue to do that, he takes us to another level.”
A full box score is available here.
With the win, the Fire remained perfect and upped their record to 15-0. They are now one win away from breaking The Basketball League record for longest win streak. The Fire will have the opportunity to set the record on Thursday, May 9th, when they host the Little Rock Lightning inside FireLake Arena. Tip is scheduled for 7 PM. 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).
Thursday’s game against Little Rock is also the annual Pink Out game sponsored by SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Shawnee to raise awareness for cancer research.
Story by Chris Cox / Photos by Kent Bush