[ad_1]
Thirdy Ravena suffered their first loss in the 2020-21 B.League season after San-En NeoPhoenix fell to Shimane Susanoo Magic, 81-74, on Sunday at the Yonago Industrial Gymnasium.
Ravena scored 12 points on 4 of 10 shots to go with eight rebounds in 24 minutes, but that wasn’t enough to help NeoPhoenix score a follow-up win against the same Shimane team that they beat on Saturday.
Other imports struggled with fouls as Stevan Jelovac (three fouls) and Kyle Hunt (two) had limited action in the first half.
Shimane took advantage and built a 16-point lead twice in the third quarter, sailing comfortably until San-En tried to mount a late rally in the fourth quarter.
Hunt propelled the NeoPhoenix back into the game and helped his team get closer to five, 77-72, with more than half a minute to go, but an unsportsmanlike foul by Ravena on Yasuhiro Yamashita with 25 seconds to go threw a wrench in. the comeback.
Although Yamashita only split his free throws, this did enough to hurt San-En’s chances of pulling off a late comeback. A NeoPhoenix save then led to two free throws for Jelovac to cut the lead to 78-74, but an easy punch from Nyika Williams to Susanoo essentially sealed the deal for the hosts with 12 ticks remaining.
Jelovac still managed to lead the NeoPhoenix with 23 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Hunt added 10 and seven boards. Hayato Kawashima also threw 12 points to equal Ravenna’s exit while also scoring six steals.
De’Mon Brooks pinned Shimane with 19 points and six rebounds, Reid Travis added 17 and five, while Perrin Buford finished with 15 and eight rebounds. Shimane improved to 6-6.
San-En slipped to 2-10 in the standings.
The NeoPhoenix can bounce back on Wednesday, when Ravena makes their home debut against Osaka Evessa.
