Jackets Remain in Top 25 After Weekend Split

Photo Courtesy HyXposure

The newest American Basketball Association power rankings came out yesterday and the Steel City Yellow Jackets remained in the top 25 as they are ranked number 25 in the country. They are coming off of a weekend in which they split losing Saturday night by the score of 95-93 and winning Sunday by the score of 154-127.

We are more than a month into the American Basketball Association season and the Steel City Yellow Jackets are coming off their first rough patch of the season going 1-2 in their last three games. However, despite the rough patch, the Yellow Jackets were able to remain in the top 25 for this week's power rankings. They dropped from the number 20 spot last week to the number 25 spot this week with their record sitting at 4-3.

They are coming off a weekend in which they would split their two games dropping a heart breaker on Saturday and coming back with a big victory on Sunday. They have faced some tough opponents lately in the now number 1 ranked DMV Warriors and the up and coming PG Valor. The upcoming schedule gets a little more complex for the Jackets as the Kalamazoo Cobras cancelled their game with the Yellow Jackets due to a snow storm. However, the Yellow Jackets are still scheduled to travel to face off against the West Michigan Lake Hawks on Sunday at 6 p.m.

The Yellow Jackets took one bad step out of the gate as they lost the home opener to the Kentucky Enforcers 131-124. However, they would go on to win their next three games against the Reading Wizards, York Buccaneers, and Cleveland AM Pro'ers. In each of those games they scored 114 or more points and were lead by Lawrence Baker in each game. Baker scored at least 25 points in each of the three games and got the Yellow Jackets up to the number 17 team in the country.

During their two game losing streak, the Jackets still played very good basketball. They played the then number three team in the country very tight as it came down to the final seconds when the Yellow Jackets lead 127-126. But then a lobbed three point shot hit off the back board and found its way into the net and the Warriors would pick up the 129-127 win. The Jackets were involved in another close game the following week as it was a defensive battle against the PG Valor. It once again came down to the final seconds, however, Lawrence Baker would miss the game winning three pointer and that dropped the Jackets record to 3-3.

Then we reached Sunday's game where the Yellow Jackets needed to come up with a win to keep their record over .500. They would do just that as they got contributions from a number of players including Bobby Swartwout, who had his biggest game of the season scoring 20 points. The veterans would step up in this game as well as both Antonio Reddic and Gilmore Cummings finished with 20 points in the contest.

This year's Yellow Jackets team has relied a lot on the three point shot to keep them in many of their games. That trend was evident against the Wizards when the team hit a total of 20 in the game led by Cummings who hit seven in the contest. This has helped them be able to mount two big comebacks of 20 points or more that had been ultimately unsuccessful. This team has a never say no attitude and is never truly out of any basketball game.

The veteran leadership has been a big part of this team's success as Reddic, Cummings, and Baker have all stepped up. With Baker not playing on Sunday, Reddic passed him to lead the team in scoring with 126 points. Baker is right behind him with 124 points, and Cummings sits with 111 points. You can give any of these three men the ball and you know they are going to make something special happen. Whether it be Reddic going in for a dunk, Cummings hitting a big three pointer, or Baker driving to the hoop they know how to make plays and lead this team.

However, the young guns have been contributing this season as well. As mentioned before, Bobby Swartwout had a break out game against the Wizards scoring a season high 20 points. Marcus Smith, who has started every game for the Yellow Jackets, put up 11 points in the game on Sunday. He has been helping the Jackets out as the primary play caller and sets up his teammates for many scoring opportunities under the net.

With one game this weekend cancelled due to snow, the Jackets will be on the road on Sunday when they travel to take on the West Michigan Lake Hawks at 6 p.m. However, the Jackets will be back home on December 17th as they take on the Fredericksburg Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. It will be your last chance in the first half of the regular season to come on out and Catch the Buzz.