From Motor City to Steel City: Baker Leading the Yellow Jackets to Success

Steel City Yellow Jackets veteran Lawrence Baker did not always have it easy in his childhood. However, he turned his misfortune into a great basketball career that saw him play collegiately at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and now has him as one of the leaders of the Steel City Yellow Jackets.

Steel City Yellow Jackets Guard and veteran Lawrence Baker is one of the shining stars on the court for this year’s Steel City Yellow Jackets team. He is currently the second leading scorer on the team behind teammate Antonio Reddic, and his defense has been one of the strong points for this year’s team playing as the big man under the net. However, looking at where he is now, you would never know that his childhood was not always the easiest.

Baker grew up in Detroit, Michigan where he was constantly in and out of foster care throughout his childhood. Baker was forced to move around a lot and that lead to him not being able to play basketball at a young age. He was constantly in and out of Juvenile Detention Centers and did not get the opportunity to play sports, let alone basketball, from a very young age.

“Growing up in Detroit was pretty tough,” said Baker. “When I was 9 I was admitted into foster care, so I grew up in foster care. I was a real wild child so that was why I never played basketball at high school, college, or Amateur Athletic Union leagues.”

Through all of this craziness in his childhood, Baker was able to overcome it and use it in a positive light to help him find the sport he now loves. According to Baker he found the game of basketball when he was 16 years old in a Juvenile Detention Facility. The conditions were not the best for the game, but Baker would make it work and turned it into something special.

“I found basketball when I got sent to a Juvenile Detention Facility when I was 16,” said Baker. “There was nothing else to do and we played on a carpet floor with no break away rims. There was nothing else to do so we just played, and I could never shoot or dribble but I was always athletic.”

Little did Baker know at the time, but this leisure activity in the Juvenile Facility was about to become something much bigger and lead to a bright future for him. After leaving the Juvenile Detention Facility, Baker and a friend took a trip up to the University of Michigan for a tournament. Much to Baker’s surprise, this is what would ultimately lead him to becoming a member of an organized basketball team for the first time in his life.

“I was playing with a friend in a three-on-three tournament at the University of Michigan, and I won a dunk contest against the University of Michigan athletes,” said Baker. “A junior college coach came up and asked me ‘are you playing anywhere’ and I said ‘no.’ Then he gave me a scholarship for winning the dunk contest, and that is how I got into basketball.”

Baker would go on to play for his first organized basketball team at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In his senior season with the Crimson Hawks, Baker averaged 20.7 points per game, which was second on the team, and collected a team high 220 rebounds in his 28 games played. Baker would be eligible for the National Basketball Association draft after that season but unfortunately did not get picked up.

After college, Baker mostly played basketball around the Pittsburgh area in local summer leagues. He did get the opportunity to play one year over seas, but after a year he was back playing local basketball. Through these summer leagues, he found the Steel City Yellow Jackets and it was current Owner and Head Coach Averill Pippens, known by the players as Coach Ace, who gave Baker the opportunity with the Yellow Jackets.

“Coach Ace came to one of the leagues I was playing in and was passing out flyers,” said Baker. “A friend of mine told me I should just go up there and try it out, so I went up there and its been going ever since.”

Baker was a member of the Yellow Jackets in their first season and Coach Ace is still one of the key people in Baker’s life to help motivate him on the court. According to Baker, Coach Ace is the guy who encourages him to be himself on the court and motivates him to continue to get better on a day-to-day basis whether it be on the court or off of the court.

“Coach Ace basically he motivates me to keep leading and keep doing what I do,” said Baker. “My game is solid, there is nothing I do great, there is nothing I do exceptionally well, but I play hard and do whatever it takes to win. Coach Ace lets me go with that and keep my attitude and he really lets me play my game.”

Baker is one of three current Steel City Yellow Jackets who were part of the team for the inaugural game back on November 8^th 2014. Fellow Jackets Gilmore Cummings and Antonio Reddic were also on that team and all three players have grown together over the course of their time with the Yellow Jackets. Baker has echoed what Reddic and Cummings have said about the three being like brothers and growing together through the Yellow Jackets.

“They’re my bros man, those two are some good guys,” said Baker. “Tone [Reddic] is a very good athlete, Gil [Cummings] is a very smart guard, and they have my back and I have their back. I’m the enforcer of the group so anytime they have a problem I’m there no matter what’s going on.”

As the enforcer of the group, Baker is a menacing figure on the court standing in at six feet six inches tall and weighing in at about 230 pounds. As Baker gets up there in age he is relying more and more on his strength over his athletic ability and he uses this to his full advantage. As Baker says, if he gets an arm around you, you’re not moving.

“I’m just strong, so I just try to use my strength as an advantage,” said Baker. “I’m older now, so these guys can jump higher than me and move faster than me, but they are not stronger than me and they are not going to move me. Unless you’re jumping over me you’re not going to get around me because when I put an arm on you, you’re not going anywhere.”

Baker’s overall goal when it comes to basketball is to win and represent the city well. According to Baker, Detroit is considered more of a basketball city and Pittsburgh is definitely more football. He wants to try and open up an avenue for the kids playing at the college level so that they can have something to look forward to in their athletic adventures after the college level.

“[The Steel City Yellow Jackets] are good because it gives kids who are playing in high school and college locally something to look forward too,” said Baker. “Everybody can’t play overseas, everybody can’t play in the NBA, so this gives them another opportunity where they can come and play basketball at a high level.”

Baker has become a truly great asset for the Steel City Yellow Jackets since joining the team in 2014. From his humble beginnings back in Detroit to now, Baker has grown not only in physical size and strength, but mentally as well. As far as his basketball career goes Baker says, “I don’t know how much longer my old butt is going to be around, but I’ll be here as long as I can.” The Steel City Yellow Jackets hope that it is for a long time so they can capture that elusive American Basketball Association title. 

Jackets Come Up Big With Rivalry Gane Win

The Steel City Yellow Jackets played some hard nose basketball and came out victorious as they defeated their rivals, the Baltimore Hawks, by the score of 128-119. The victory propelled the Jackets to 7-5 on the season as they head on the road today.

Pittsburgh and Baltimore are two cities that genuinely hate each other in the sporting world. Whether it was the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles battling in the 70's for the world series or the classic rough and tough battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL today, neither city likes to see the other one across from them.

This classic Pittsburgh versus Baltimore rivalry would continue last night when the Steel City Yellow Jackets took on the number 21 team in the country in the Baltimore Hawks. It was the Yellow Jackets black out game and a capacity crowd filled the Neighborhood Academy to watch this classic rivalry.

The Yellow Jackets made some key mistakes early on in this matchup and it would allow the Hawks to jump out to an early 18-9 lead just give minutes into the contest. The Yellow Jackets would continue to fight back however and caused big turnovers to put them right back in it. After one quarter of play, with the score sat at 37-30.

The Yellow Jackets scoring was widely spread out in the first quarter as eight different Yellow Jackets got on the board. Gilmore Cummings led the bunch scoring six points in the first quarter of play. The chirpiness was already starting in this one and wasn't about to quiet down a bit.

The second quarter would belong to the Yellow Jackets as they took control of the scoreboard putting up 38 points to the Hawks 23. Good defense and rebounding by Lawrence Baker helped the Yellow Jackets to secure the ball and Dre Anthony made the most of his offensive opportunities scoring 14 points in the second quarter alone. Baltimore was baffled in the quarter as they had a lot of bad shots and a lot of turnovers. Nardi Bogues was the only one who seemed to be clicking as he scored seven points in the quarter.

The Jackets would go into half time with the lead once again as it was 67-60. Dre Anthony would lead the team in scoring at the half with 14 points on the night. He was followed closely by Lawrence Baker, 11 points, and Antonio Reddic, 10 points. For the Hawks, it would be Dishawn Bradshaw leading the way with 17 points followed by Bogues, 13 points, and Ding Santos, nine points.

The Yellow Jackets were in full control of this game with no signs of stopping before half time. However, when they came out to start the third quarter, some of the mistakes that had haunted them early on came back to bite them as the Hawks fought to get back in this game. As the quarter went on the Jackets would clean up their mistakes and the Hawks would start making mistakes of their own as both teams scored 27 points in the quarter. Reddic had the hot hand in the quarter as he was able to put up eight for the Yellow Jackets.

The crowd was into this one as they rocked the Neighborhood Academy setting up for one of the most exciting finishes all season. As holds true in many of these Pittsburgh/Baltimore matchups, things started to get heated towards the end of the game. There was a lot of trash talking among the teams, but the peace was kept and the game was managed very well between Coach Ace and Coach Brown for Baltimore.

With less than four minutes left in the game, the Yellow Jackets had a ten point lead sitting at 117-107 and the Hawks tried everything to come back. They fouled the Yellow Jackets three times over the last minute of play but they could not get anything going as they would ultimately fall in this one by the score of 128-119.

The Yellow Jacket were once again lead by veteran Antonio Reddic who scored 30 points on the night increasing his streak to five straight games now in which he has scored 30 or more points. Dre Anthony also had a strong showing in his first home contest with the Yellow Jackets as he put up 23 points in the night, followed by Lawrence Baker's 17 point effort. For the Hawks it was Nardi Bogues who would lead the way with a game high 32 points on the night. He was followed by Dishawn Bradshaw's 27 point effort in the game.

The win moves the Yellow Jackets to 7-5 on the season as they head out in the road today to face the Richmond Elite. The Yellow Jackets were the number 25 team in the country coming into the game and are looking to move up after beating the number 21 team in the country.

Steel City Yellow Jackets Player of the Game: Dre Anthony

In his first home game as a Yellow Jacket, Dre Anthony came up big with 23 points on the night and it was enough to secure him the Yellow Jackets Player of the Game award. Anthony recently joined the Yellow Jackets and is looking to make an immediate impact as they make a run for a third straight playoff apperance.

Up Next:

The Steel City Yellow Jackets are back in action today when they take on the Richmond Elite on the road. The next time the Yellow Jackets are scheduled to play at home is on February 3rd when they take on the Buffalo Blue Hawks. There are only a few remaining home games left, so if you haven't already come on out and catch the buzz.

Yellow Jackets Bounce Back in Win Against Lake Hawks

The Steel City Yellow Jackets got back to their winning ways in Sunday defeating the West Michigan Lake Hawks by the score of 107-103. The win have the Yellow Jackets a split of their Michigan Road trip as they head into their rivalry game this Friday night.

After dropping the second half opener against the Grand Rapids Danger, the Steel City Yellow Jackets were looking for a bounce back victory Sunday night when they continued their Michigan road trip as they took on the West Michigan Lake Hawks. They would be able to get it done on this night and go back over .500 as they defeated the Lake Hawks by the score of 107-103 improving their record to 6-5 so far on the 2016/2017 season.

The Yellow Jackets would once again get off to a fast start in this one as Antonio Reddic continues to light up the scoreboard since becoming a Jackets starter by scoring 12 points in the first quarter alone. He was helped out by three three-point shots by Lawrence Baker to give the Yellow Jackets a 31-24 lead after one quarter of play. Newest Yellow Jacket BillyDee appeared in his second game and scored his first two points via two free throw shots during that first quarter of play.

This would be a back and forth game throughout, however, as the Lake Hawks fought back in the second quarter to score 33 points between eight different players. Xavier Keeling lead the Lake Hawks in the second quarter scoring 8 points and helping to give them a slim 57-55 lead as the teams headed for the locker room. One thing the Yellow Jackets have been able to do this year is have the lead at half time as this is only the fourth time in the team’s 11 games that they have not had the lead going into the break.

Antonio Reddic would once again lead the Yellow Jackets in scoring at half time as he collected 16 points through the first half of play. Lawrence Baker and Bobby Swartwout both had nine points at the break and BillyDee rounded out the top three scorers with five points in his second game as a Yellow Jacket. For the Lake Hawks, Marquis Brewer and Lou Williams paced the offense in the first half scoring 10 points each. Since the Yellow Jackets have very rarely been on the losing end at half time, the team had to regroup and come out ready to take back the lead.

Lawrence Baker would get the Yellow Jackets offense going in the third quarter as he took advantage of a 3D situation and made a four point shot to get the offense off the ground. He would hit another three point shot in the quarter to give him five shots totaling three or more points in the ball game. Reddic would have another big third quarter for the Yellow Jackets as he put up a team high 11 points giving the Yellow Jackets 24 points in the quarter. However, The Lake Hawks would come out hot as well scoring 24 points and keeping that slim two point lead as the score sat at 81-79.

The Yellow Jackets were without their team captain and veteran Gil Cummings in the third quarter as he received a technical foul at the end of the second quarter for arguing with the refs and it forced him to sit out. However, he would come back in the fourth quarter and prove key in the Yellow Jackets eventually coming out of this one with the victory.

The three point shot would be the Yellow Jackets savior in this game as in the fourth quarter they hit four key three point shots to give the Yellow Jackets the lead. Billy Williams, Gil Cummings, Lawrence Baker, and Isaiah Prince each hit from long distance. The Jackets defense would hold up strong and the Yellow Jackets would just edge out the Lake Hawks scoring 28 points to the Lake Hawks 22 and picking up the 107-103 victory. The win improved the Yellow Jackets to 6-5 on the season and put their road record to 2-2 so far.

Antonio Reddic would lead the Yellow Jackets in scoring for the fourth straight game as he was once again over 30 points on the night as he scored 32 on the evening. Reddic would be followed by Baker, 19 points, and Isaiah Prince, 11 points. BillyDee put up a good performance in his second game as a Yellow Jacket as well as he collected 10 points in the contest to round out the four Yellow Jackets to finish in double digits on the night. The Lake Hawks were lead on the night by Marquis Brewer who finished with 20 points on the evening. Rounding out the top three scorers for the Lake Hawks were Ralph Monoay, 15 points, and Lou Williams, 14 points.

This was a big victory for the Yellow Jackets as they come back home this Friday to take on their rivals the Baltimore Hawks. Momentum is always a good thing to have on your side and that’s what the Jackets now have with this comeback victory over West Michigan. If they can build off of this momentum, it could take them all the way to their third playoff appearance here in their third year of existence.

Steel City Player of the Game: Lawrence Baker

Lawrence Baker was able to add a spark to this Yellow Jackets offense today hitting four three point shots and a 3D four point shot on the day to get the Yellow Jackets going and it was enough to earn him his second straight player of the game. He finished the night with 19 points putting him in double digits for the second straight night. Baker’s scoring was down before the break as he was struggling to find the net. However, he is back and his offensive production is going to be a big boost for this Yellow Jackets team moving forward.

Up Next:

The Steel City Yellow Jackets have a quick turnaround as they take on their rivals the Baltimore Hawks this Friday at 8:30 p.m. at the Neighborhood Academy. It will be a black out as all fans attending the game are encouraged to wear black in support of the Yellow Jackets. Tickets will be ten dollars for adults and five dollars for students. Baltimore versus Pittsburgh is always fun and this game will be no exception, so come on out and Catch the Buzz.

Game Notes: Yellow Jackets Start Second Week With Matchup Against Buccaneers

The Steel City Yellow Jackets Get Ready for their second week of play as they take on the York Buccaneers this Saturday at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets came off of a split weekend in which they beat the Reading Wizards 114-105 and lost to the Kentucky Enforcers 131-124.

The Steel City Yellow Jackets had a successful opening weekend of the American Basketball Association season as they split their two games to come out with a record of 1-1. They entertained many fans at the Barack Obama Academy Gymnasium on Pittsburgh's North Side and played some exciting high scoring basketball.

The Yellow Jackets are back this week as they come into week two of the season where they will take on the York Buccaneers tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Barack Obama Academy gymnasium. The Yellow Jackets will be looking to go over .500 for the first time this season and they have many positive aspects from last week's games to build off of.

The Steel City Yellow Jackets week one player of the week, Lawrence Baker, leads the team in scoring with 53 points on the season. Baker, in his third season with the Yellow Jackets, has been on this team since the beginning in 2014 and has seen them through back-to-back playoff runs. Another three year veteran to the team, Antonio Reddic, leads the team defensively accumulating 14 rebounds through two games.

The new players on this year's team got their time to shine as well through the first two games. Juan Franklin scored a single game team high 32 points in the teams opener against the Kentucky Enforcers. He was joined on the double digit list in that game by other new comer Marcus Smith who had 24 points of his own.

The Yellow Jackets are very good from beyond the arc as they hit 76% of their three point shots last weekend. They were topped by Baker who hit eight in Sunday's game alone and in total has 13 on the season. Three pointers were key in the Yellow Jackets beating the Reading Wizards as to go along with Baker's eight three pointers, Gilmore Cummings added four, and Davont Jackson, Smith, Jonathan Logan, and Jason Arrington each added one.

The Yellow Jackets lead both of their games over the weekend going into halftime, but they could not come out with the victory in game one as they let their lead slip away. That is one thing they will have to work on as the season moves forward. However, once the players get used to being around each other, this problem should fix itself.

The Yellow Jackets will be playing their first conference opponent this season as they take on the York Buccaneers this Saturday. The Buccaneers enter this game having dropped their first two contests by scores of 130-112 and 129-122. They faced off against the Baltimore Hawks in the season opener and took on the Richmond Elite the next day.

The Buccaneers are lead offensively by Dwayne Birden who has a team high 81 points on the season. They feature almost a dual threat attack offensively as they combat Birden's 81 points with Ernest Hargett who has 61 points of his own. The key to the game for the Yellow Jackets is going to be to shut down the offensive attack of these two players

The last time these two teams met was last season on February 21, 2016 and the Yellow Jackets came out victorious in that game by the score of 139-106. Baker and Reddic were both part of that game a season ago and will look to lead the team tomorrow night against York as well. In total the two teams met twice last season with the Yellow Jackets winning both of those contests.

The Yellow Jackets will put their (1-1) record on the line with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow. It is also Veterans and Servicemen Day where the Steel City Yellow Jackets will be honoring the servicemen and woman who defend our country and its freedoms. Tickets are 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for students. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at eventbrite.com. Come on out to the Barack Obama Academy Gymnasium and be sure to Catch the buzz. 

Yellow Jackets End Opening Weekend on a High Note

The Steel City Yellow Jackets split their opening weekend games losing 131-124 on Saturday night and coming out victorious 114-105 on Sunday night. The Yellow Jackets are now (1-1) on the season as they continue their track to making the playoffs for the third straight season.

We are through one week of play as we begin the American Basketball Association's 50th season of play and the Yellow Jackets would end the opening weekend coming out with a record of (1-1). Their first game of the season featured a match up with the Kentucky Enforcers in which they lost by the final score of 131-124.

The Yellow Jackets would lead that game through half time by the score of 63-59. However, the Enforcers would fight back in this one, however, tying the game at 91 going into the final quarter of play before they pulled ahead for good eventually winning the game by the score of 131-124 and handing the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the year.

In the game. Juan Fanklin would lead the team with a season high 32 points to go along with five assists and two rebounds on his way to winning the Steel City Yellow Jackets player of the game. Franklin was also clutch at the free throw line shooting 85% on the night, six for seven, in the Yellow Jackets opening loss. Lawrence Baker (24), Marcus Smith (24), Antonio Reddic (14), and Isaiah Prince (13) would also score in double digits for the Jackets on the night.

It was redemption night for the Yellow Jackets on Sunday when they took on the Reading Wizards for their second game of the 2016/2017 season and they would do just that. The Yellow Jackets offense once again jumped out to a big lead of 36-19 after one quarter of play and would take that lead into halftime for the second straight night as they lead 61-48. Baker had a hot hand from beyond the arc in the third quarter as he hit four straight three point shots on the way to helping the Yellow Jackets pick up their first win of the season 114-105.

Baker was the leader of the Yellow Jackets on this night as he scored a season high 29 points to go along with eight assists and seven rebounds as he picked up the player of the game honors. Baker was almost automatic from beyond the three point line where he drained 66% of his shots, 8 for 12. Baker was the only Jacket to go above 20 points on the night, but he was helped out by four other double digit efforts in the Jackets victory.

The Jackets had great fan support on both nights as Yellow Jacket nation came out to support their team and see some exciting basketball at the Barack Obama Academy Gymnasium. The Jackets lead at halftime in each game and showed some great offensive ability as well as the ability to play solid defense.

One particular area that the team shined at this weekend was from the free throw line. They made 77% of their free throws over the weekend, 34 made in 44 attempts, and those points went a long way to helping the team secure its first win of the season. They also showed an ability to shoot from beyond the three point line, especially in game two when Baker, Logan, and Jackson each hit three pointers on a consistent basis.

One thing the Jackets will look to work on going into the second week of play is being able to finish ball games. Th Yellow Jackets had a half time lead in both games this weekend, and they also saw the opposition come back late. In Saturday's ball game the surge was too much for the Jackets to handle, while they were able to hold off the charge on Sunday to pick up the victory.

Steel City Yellow Jackets Player of the Week: Lawrence Baker

Your Steel City Yellow Jackets player of the week award for week one goes to Lawrence Baker. Baker got his season started scoring a combined 53 points which currently leads the Yellow Jackets team. He also piled on 11 rebounds and nine assists for the weekend. He got the Yellow Jackets offense going shooting 60% from beyond the arc, 15 for 25, including four straight three pointers in the third quarter of Sunday's game.

The Yellow Jackets will return to action this Saturday when they take on the York Buccaneers at 7 p.m. at the Barack Obama Academy Gymnasium. Tickets are 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for children. Be sure to come out and catch the Buzz as the team looks to improve upon their 1-1 record.

Jackets Pick Up First Win of Season in Win Over Wizards

The Steel City Yellow Jackets picked up their first win of the season tonight as they defeated the Reading Wizards by the score of 114-105. It was a close game late, but the Yellow Jackets defense held strong and improved the Yellow Jackets record to 1-1 on the season.

The Steel City Yellow Jackets concluded their opening weekend festivities tonight as they took on the Reading Wizards for their second game of the season. After falling to the Kentucky Enforcers in their opening game of the season, the Yellow Jackets looked to bounce back in tonight's game. They were able to do just that as they defeated the Reading Wizards by the score of 114-105.

The Reading Wizards were playing their second game of the season as well and came into this contest with a 1-0 record after defeating the Philadelphia Cannon by the score of 106-99. The Yellow Jackets, however, dropped their previous game to the Kentucky Enforcers by the score of 131-124 as they were looking to get back to .500.

The Yellow Jackets offense was shooting on all cylinders early on in this game in front of a crowd of about 50 people at the Barack Obama Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.The offense managed to score 36 points in the opening quarter thanks to hot hands from both Davont Jackson and Marcus Smith. Jackson had a team high 13 points in the first quarter including a three pointer, while Smith tacked on seven points in the first quarter of play.

The Yellow Jackets would score a total of 36 points in the first quarter to jump out to a 36-19 lead. However, the Wizards would finally get their offense going in the second quarter as they ended up outscoring the Yellow Jackets 29-26 cutting into the Yellow Jackets half-time lead making it 61-48, and the Yellow Jackets would lead at half-time for the second straight game.

The Jackets shot 24 for 54 from the floor in the first half including seven for 24 beyond the arc. Jackson and Baker lead the team in scoring at half-time with 13 points each. The Yellow Jackets would have to hold on to their lead in  the second half if they wanted to come out on top. They would be helped in the third quarter by the three point shot, which was on fire for the Yellow Jackets all night long.

Lawrence Baker started the third quarter on an incredible hot streak from beyond the arc as he made four straight three point shots in a row to drive his scoring total up to 25 points on the day. However, the Jackets would once again be outscored in the quarter and their lead was again cut down to 86-82 with one quarter of basketball left to play. The fourth quarter was where the Jackets lost their first game of the season, and on this night they weren't going to let it happen again.

The Yellow Jackets would use the free throw line to their advantage as they made 76% of their free throws,13 of their 17, in the second half  and put 27 points up in the fourth quarter to the Wizards 23 to hold on to the 114-105 victory. It was the second straight day in  which the Yellow Jackets scored 100 plus points and they were able to even their record to (1-1).

The Yellow Jackets were lead offensively on the day by Lawrence Baker who put up a team high 29 points on the night while pulling in seven rebounds and eight assists. The Yellow Jackets had a total of five players score in double digits including Jackson (13), Gilmore Cummings (14), Antonio Reddic (12), and Lamont Wright (10). Reddic lead the Jackets defensively as he pulled down a team high nine rebounds on the day.

Steel City Yellow Jackets Player of the Game: Lawrence Baker

Lawrence Baker picks up the player of the game honors for game two of the 2016/2017 season for his efforts against the Wizards where he scored 29 points with eight assists and seven rebounds on the night. It was Baker's hot hand from the three point line in the third quarter that helped lead the Jackets to victory as he sank four straight three point shots and added a free throw in that quarter as well. Baker's 29 points puts his total through two games to 53 points on the season which leads the team.

Up Next:

The Steel City Yellow Jackets (1-1) return to action on Saturday November 12 when they face off against the York Bucaneers (0-2) at the Barack Obama Academy gymnasium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Yellow Jackets will look to go over .500 for the first time this season as they make a push for their third straight playoff appearance. Tickets are 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for children. Be sure to come on out and Catch the Buzz.