Photography by Gary McCullough
The Jacksonville Giants flourished in front of the home crowd, at the Jacksonville Memorial Arena, with a 184-82 triple digit win over the Fayetteville Flight. Jacksonville improves to 8-2 on the season and has won six games in a row. The Giants had six players score in double figures.
“I was proud of the guys, ” said Giants head coach Jerry Williams. “We played tough and meshed together well.”
The Giants started the game fast and aggressive with a strong offensive play from veteran Ed Horton. Horton scored 32 points, all in the first half, with 23 points coming in the second quarter. 2014 ABA MVP Jermaine Bell complimented Horton with 14 first half points and 16 overall.
“That’s why they call him Hollywood,” said Williams in reference to Horton. “Ed (Horton) played a great game and is one of our leaders.”
Offensively Jacksonville had other players step up as leaders to keep the second half lead over the Flight. Other leading scorers included Jacksonville native Bernard Nugent (27 points), former Georgetown star Aaron Bowen (21 points) and former St. John’s River standout Clarence Tillman (21 points).
“We’ve added a lot more players to the roster since the DMV game and they are really playing well right now,” said Williams.
The Giants also owned the boards in the contest as they out-rebounded Fayetteville 76-47. Bell led the Giants with 13 rebounds with Elijah Smith adding 12. Smith, Bell, and Bowen had multiple slam dunks in the game and center Bruce Brown landed a three-pointer late in the game.
“The team is gelling together, nicely,” said Horton. “We have a great team and will continue to improve.”