After taking a 114-107 loss on the road to the Prince George's Valor last Saturday, the Steel City Yellow Jackets find themselves down two spots in this week's American Basketball Association Top 25 Rankings. The Yellow Jackets sit at 7-7 as they prepare for their game this weekend against the Imperial National Crusaders.
The Steel City Yellow Jackets could not catch a break last Saturday as they dropped their third road contest of the year losing to the Prince George's Valor 114-107. As a result of the loss, the team fell two spots in this week's American Basketball Association power rankings as they are in a three-way tie for the number 25 team in the country. Their record so far in the 2016/2017 season sits at 7-7 including an impressive 5-3 record at home.
The Yellow Jackets currently find themselves in a three-way tie for the number 25 team in the country as they share the spot with the Jersey Express (7-7) and the Elmira Eagles (6-6). With the Yellow Jackets sitting at 7-7 on the season, they will look to pull ahead of those two teams in this week's match-up when they are back at home, a place they have played very well this season.
For as well as they have played at home, however, they have not been able to catch a break on the road so far this season. The Yellow Jackets road losses include falling to the Richmond Elite, Prince George's Valor, Kentucky Enforcers, and Grand Rapids Danger. Three of those four teams have a spot in this week's ABA power rankings, and the fourth is on the teams to watch list. There is no doubt the Yellow Jackets have a very tough schedule this season, and on the road it has cost them dearly.
In the game last Saturday against the Prince George's Valor, the Yellow Jackets not only took a loss on the scoreboard, but suffered from some questionable calls near the end of the game. Head Coach Ace Pippens got his first two technical fouls of his career and Isaiah Prince also picked up a technical foul in the game. Prince would also suffer a serious eye injury at the end of the game and the Yellow Jackets are hopeful that he will be back this week.
One positive to look on from this match-up is once again the Yellow Jackets were able to go into the half time break on top of their opponents. In the team's 14 games this season, they have either been tied or leading going into the break in 10 of those games. This allows Coach Pippens to be able to strategize with his team ahead, giving them pointers to help them hold on to the lead.
The Yellow Jackets defense also stepped up on this day as they continued their string of seven straight games in which they held the opposition to under 120 points. Coach Ace preaches that he wants his team to hold the opponent to under 100 points and the Yellow Jackets, led defensively by Lawrence Baker and Isaiah Prince, look to get closer and closer to the goal set forth by their head coach.
On the offensive side of the ball, Antonio Reddic has been the unsung leader of this team. He leads the team in scoring so far this year and, prior to Saturday, had a string of seven straight games in which he scored 30 points or more in a game. Reddic started the year as the Yellow Jackets sixth man off the bench, but has since cracked the Yellow Jackets starting five and has produced in a big way this season.
The top of the American Basketball Association power rankings have not changed much from a week ago. The DMV Warriors still hold the top spot as they continue their impressive season sitting at (11-0). The Yellow Jackets played the Warriors close in their game back on November 26th losing by just one point. The rest of the top ten looks like this:
1. DMV Warriors (11-0)
2. South Florida Gold (14-2)
3. Windy City Groove (9-0)
4. Mobile Bay Tornadoes (8-0)
5.Orlando Waves (12-2)
6. Kentucky Enforcers (11-2)
7. Salina Saints (8-0)
8. Orange County Novastars (10-3)
9. Austin Bats (9-1)
10. Chicago Fury (9-2)
The Steel City Yellow Jackets are back in action today when they return home to The Neighborhood Academy when they take on the Imperial National Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are ten dollars for adults and five dollars for students. There are only five home games left in the regular season so, if you haven't already, be sure to come on out and Catch the Buzz.
8. Orange County Novastars (10-3)
9. Austin Bats (9-1)
10. Chicago Fury (9-2)
The Steel City Yellow Jackets are back in action today when they return home to The Neighborhood Academy when they take on the Imperial National Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are ten dollars for adults and five dollars for students. There are only five home games left in the regular season so, if you haven't already, be sure to come on out and Catch the Buzz.
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