Steel City Topples Akron 123-114 to Continue Hot Start

The Steel City Yellow Jackets continued their hot start to the 2017/18 season winning their third straight game by defeating Akron 123-114. It was a close contest throughout, but some key contributions from the bench allowed Steel City to seal the victory.

Pittsburgh's only professional basketball team, the Steel City Yellow Jackets, continued their hot start to the season as they won their third straight game defeating the Akron Aviators 123-114. The game had some ups and downs but, in the end, they were able to survive thanks to some key contributors off of the bench.

It was a slow start offensively for Steel City on the day as they did not have their shot early on. However, Gerald Brooks would provide the spark they needed to get going as he put up nine first quarter points and continues to play big under the net. Brooks has really helped to fill the shoes of last year's big man Lawrence Baker and has gotten the job done in the rebound department turning many of those rebounds into points.

Akron would be up by three after the first quarter of play, but the Yellow Jackets offense would come alive thanks to some key contributors off the bench. Isaiah Prince had his shot going in the second quarter putting up 15 points including two big 3D opportunities converted. Jason Arrington also played a big role as he was able to put up 11 points off the bench including a big three point shot. These two were able to step up and spark this offense as the starters were getting warmed up.

Thanks to the performance of Arrington and Prince, Steel City was able to go into halftime with the lead sitting at 64-58 as they looked to continue their second quarter momentum into the second half. Coach Ace Pippens was trying to get his defense to step up and allow his offense to take over the game as we have seen so many times this season.

However, Akron was the one that came out firing in the third quarter as they would go on a 10-4 run to tie the game at 68. The lead would change several times throughout the second half as the teams battled for supremacy. It wasnt until late in the fourth quarter when Steel City was able to run away with the game.

Tone Reddic put up eight points late in the game including two key free throws and Jason Arrington sealed the deal with the final two free throws with under two minute to go toofficially put the game out of reach. With the win, Steel City has now won three straight games to start the season and are now 4-1 on the year.

Isaiah Prince lead his team in points with 24 coming off the bench on Wednesday. He was one of three Yellow Jackets to finish with 20 or more points as Jason Arrington finished with 22 and Tone Reddic collected 21 points on the day. The win showed that Steel City has the depth to win even if their starters arent at there best. Gil Cummings was having trouble finding his shot early on not getting on the board until the third quarter. He eventually ended the day with 12 points making four three pointers on the day, but his teammates were able to pick him up and put points on the board.

Steel City has a quick turnaround as they are right back at home this Saturday when they take on Team Network at 7 p.m. Come on out for a night of exciting basketball as tickets are 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for kids. It's another exciting season of ABA basketball, so come on out and Catch the Buzz.

Steel City Celebrates NorthSide with Rivalry Against Baltimore

The Steel City Yellow Jackets look to get back in the win column after falling to DMV last time out 122-115. They will celebrate Northside day in their third game of the season as they look to go back over .500 when they battle their rivals the Baltimore Hawks at 7:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh, Pa.'s only professional basketball team, the Steel City Yellow Jackets, are back in action this Saturday when they battle their rivals the Baltimore Hawks at 7:30 p.m. Steel City is looking to get back in the win column after falling to the DMV Warriors last time out 122-115 and are also trying to get back over the .500 mark sitting at 1-1.

Steel City fell down early in the game against DMV and, although they tried to make a late comeback in the end, it wasnt enough to top the number eight team in the country. The DMV Warriors jumped out to a big lead and took it all the way to half time. However, it was the Steel City Yellow Jackets offense that shined in the second half and they cut the deficit to 14 with one quarter to play. However, the deficit was just too much for Steel City to overcome as they fell 122-115.

With last weeks loss, the Steel City Yellow Jackets dropped out of the Top 25 for this week's ABA Power Rankings, but are still on the Teams to Watch list. Tone Reddic and Gil Cummings each had great showings in the season opener against the West Virginia Warlocks two weeks ago as they both went over 20 points in the contest. Some of the newest Steel City Yellow Jackets also made their marks as Gerald Brooks and Tyrone Brinson each made an impact in the second half of that game.

The thing that Coach Ace and his team will look to be better at against Baltimore is their defensive play. So far this season through the first two games, Steel City has allowed 120.5 PPG this season. Coach Ace always says he wants his team to keep the opposition under 100 and that is a goal they accomplished several times last season. The offense has been rolling in 2017/18 scoring 132 PPG, so if the defense can start coming through more often this could be a very dangerous team.

Things don't get much easier for Steel City this week as the Baltimore Hawks come into the week as the number five ranked team in the country. They are off to a 3-1 start to the season coming off of a 132-117 win over the New Jersey Express last Saturday. Baltimore has had the offense working for them lately as well scoring over 130 points in each of their last two games. On the season, they are scoring 127.7 PPG while allowing just 100.3 PPG.

It will be a special night for the Steel City Yellow Jackets as they will be celebrating Northside Night when doors open at 6:30 p.m. prior to the 7:30 p.m. start. Local rapper Asco100K will be performing and the music will be provided by DJ Stevie B. Get your tickets today at www.steelcityyellowjackets.com at 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for kids. The 2017/18 season is underway and its time to come out and Catch the Buzz.

Yellow Jackets Battle With #8 Team in the Country

Coming off of an impressive offensive display in their 149-118 win over the West Virginia Warlocks in the season opener last week, the Steel City Yellow Jackets look to make it two in a row when they face the #8 ranked DMV Warriors on Saturday. 

The Steel City Yellow Jackets had an impressive win in the season opener last week as they showed just what their offense was capable of in the season opening 149-118 win over the West Virginia Warlocks. However, they are going to need to have that same offensive presence on Saturday as they have a big match up against the number eight ranked team in the country when they take on the DMV Warriors at 7 p.m.

The offense was on full display last week as three Steel City Yellow Jackets finished with 20 points or more including Gil Cummings, who lead the offense with 25 points, Tone Reddic (24) and Gerald Brooks (23). Steel City got contributions from everyone in that contest as all but three members of the active roster got on the scoreboard in the win.

The co-captains of the 2017/18 Yellow Jackets were impressive as always as Gil Cummings and Tone Reddic each put up big points in this match. Cummings was on fire from beyond the arc hitting a team leading seven three-pointers, including a 3D four-point shot that helped give Steel City a comfortable lead in the second quarter. Tone Reddic was consistent as always getting up over 20 points mostly by driving to the net and finishing his shots. He did not play for most of the fourth quarter and still ended up with 24 points in the game.

However, it wasn't just the returners who found success, but the newcomers to the 2017/18 team were able to put on an impressive performance as well. Gerald Brooks put up 23 points following a big second half in which he put up 16 points. Brook's biggest quarter of the day came in the third quarter when he scored 10 of his 23 points and helped the Yellow Jackets pull away for good. Tyrone Brinson also had a strong showing putting up 15 points in his Yellow Jackets debut. Brinson came on in the fourth quarter as he put up eight of those 15 points to help seal the victory.

Now, the Yellow Jackets look ahead to tonight's contest with a tough game against the #8 team in the country. Last Season, this one was a nail bitter coming down to literally the final second of the ball game. DMV had the ball with :01 second to go and hit a long three pointer that gave them a 129-127 victory over Steel City. This season, the Yellow Jackets are looking to get some payback on DMV and are trying to start out with back-to-back wins.

Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m. and will be played at the new home for the Steel City Yellow Jackets, A Giving Heart Community Center located at 816 Climax Street, Pittsburgh, PA. Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are just ten dollars for adults and five dollars for children. Come on out and see all the exciting action as you begin to Catch the Buzz!

Steel City Offense Impresses in first Win of the Year

The Steel City Yellow Jackets put up impressive offensive numbers in their first win of the 2017/18 season when they beat the West Virginia Warlocks 146-118. Gil Cummings led the team scoring 24 points on the day as three Yellow Jackets each finished with 20 or more points on the night.

Pittsburgh's only professional basketball team, the Steel City Yellow Jackets, were back in action for their fourth season of play as they kicked off the 2017/18 season with a battle against the West Virginia Warlocks. The offense put up big numbers putting 148 points in the board in the teams 148-118 victory.

It was a little bit of a sloppy start for the Yellow Jackets, but as the game went on they got more crisp and found their grove. Co-Captains Tone Reddic and Gil Cummings lead the offensive charge in the first half as Steel City grooved to a 78-58 lead. Cummings was on fire from beyond the arc hitting four in the first quarter and following that up with a four pointer and another three in the second quarter. Reddic found his groove in the second quarter when he put up eight points to help pull Steel City out in front.

Cummings would be the team leader in points coming out of half-time with 19 and Tone Reddic was right behind him with 13. Isaiah Prince rounded out the top three with 12 points in the first half as the returners to this season's team were leading the way. For the Warlocks, Adrian Summerfield would lead the way with 20 first half points followed by Markos McGowan, 12 points, and Julian Thompson, 10 points.

Even though the Yellow Jackets had a big half-time lead, they would have to keep their foot on the gas to try and put the Warlocks away. They would come out and get the score back within just eight points on the back of Julian Thompson. Then Tone Reddic once again found his groove hitting eight points in that third quarter

In the fourth quarter the Yellow Jackets would get some big contributions from some of the newcomers to the 2017/18 team. Gerald Brooks who played a great second half under the net, was able to put up 10 points in the third quarter and collected a lot of rebounds. He was able to turn those rebounds into points which was a key factor for the Yellow Jackets being able to pull away.

Brooks was back at it again in the fourth quarter putting up six points and Tyrone Brinson put up eight points to secure the victory for the Yellow Jackets. The second half proved that this team has nice depth and can step up when one of their main stars has to go out of the game. Having that depth on the bench bodes well for Steel City as they move on in the season.

Gil Cummings would finish the game with the team lead in points scoring 24 on the night. He was followed by Gerald Brooks, who scored 23 points in his Steel City Yellow Jackets debut, and Tone Reddic, who finished with 21 points the 146 points scored by the Yellow Jackets is more then they scored at any point last season and shows the capabilities of this team on the offensive side of the ball.

Player of the Game: Gil Cummings

Today's Steel City Yellow Jackets player of the game is Co-Captain Gil Cummings. He finished the day with a team leading 24 points in the victory. Cummings was hot from beyond the arc hitting a team high six three-pointers and one four-pointer in the game. Cummings has been with the team since their first season four years ago and has seen this team grow throughout the years. Cumming's goal for this year is to bring the coveted ABA Championship back to Pittsburgh.

Up Next:

The Steel City Yellow Jackets have a big match-up next week against the number eight ranked team in the country against the DMV Warriors. It was originally scheduled as an away game but has since been switched to a home contest at A Giving Heart located at 816 Climax Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. Come on out for the exciting fourth season of Steel City Yellow Jackets basketball and Catch the Buzz.

Steel City Yellow Jackets Open Fourth Season of Play With Battle Against Warlokcs

The Steel City Yellow Jackets are back for their fourth season of play in 2017/18 as they open things up with a battle against the West Virginia Warlocks tonight at 7 p.m. Many of the stars from last year's team are returning this season including veterans Tone Reddic and Gilmore Cummings as they look to make a fourth straight playoff run.

Professional basketball returns to the city of Pittsburgh for the fourth consecutive season as the Steel City Yellow Jackets of the American Basketball Association are back for their fourth season in 2017/18. The first three years has seen a lot of success as they have made the ABA playoffs in each of their first three seasons of competition.

Last season, they finished the regular season 15-8 and made it to the second round of the ABA playoffs where they fell to the West Michigan Lake Hawks. It was a great year for Steel City especially on the home front as they lost just four contests all season on their home court throughout the regular and post season. It was a great offensive season for Steel City as well as they regularly were scoring in the 100 point range throughout the season.

There were also some great individual performances in the 2016/17 season as the captains of the Steel City Yellow Jackets were able to shine on the court. Tone Reddic, who is in his fourth season with the team, led Steel City in scoring last season and was regularly scoring in the 40's. His best performance came in a 63 point performance last January as he led the Yellow Jackets to victory. For his effort, Reddic was named one of two Steel City Yellow Jacket ABA all-star representatives last season. Reddic and former Yellow Jacket Lawrence Baker represented the Steel City Yellow Jackets at last season's ABA all-star game.

The 2017/18 season brings a lot of new and exciting changes to the Steel City Yellow Jackets. The biggest change is the brand new facility located at 816 Climax Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. It will be the new permanent home of the Steel City Yellow Jackets as they look to continue their dominance on their home court. Also new this season, are some exciting new players on the court who are looking to contribute to this season's team and lead them back to the ABA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

The 2017/18 season gets kicked off tonight at 7 p.m. as the Yellow Jackets do battle with ABA foe the West Virginia Warlocks. The Warlocks were formerly known as the West Virginia Wild Cats and played Steel City twice last season, losing both of those contests.

The Steel City Yellow Jackets enter the season as the 23rd ranked team in all of the ABA and are looking to continue to improve on that ranking as the season goes on. Last season, Steel City would get as high as the number 15 ranked team in the country and are looking to try and reach that top spot this season.

Tip-off for tonight's contest against the West Virginia Warlocks is scheduled for 7 p.m. The doors will open to fans at 6 p.m. with tickets costing $10 for adults and $5 for children. Come on out and catch the new season of Steel City Yellow Jackets basketball and Catch the Buzz.

Coach Ace Leads Yellow Jackets to Playoffs For Third Straight Season

After finishing the season with a record of 14-8, the Steel City Yellow Jackets are back in the American Basketball Association playoffs for the third year in a row. They finished with a home record of 10-3 and a record of 4-5 on the road capping off the 2016/2017 regular season.

Pittsburgh is known as the City of Champions. Whether it be the Pittsburgh Steelers with their NFL record six Super Bowl Championships, The Pittsburgh Pirates five World Series Championships, or the Pittsburgh Penguins capturing five Stanley Cup Championships including two in the past ten years. Winning has been a way of life in the Pittsburgh sports scene and fans expect nothing less from the teams they support.

The Steel City Yellow Jackets, Pittsburgh's Professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association, look to keep this standard of winning going as they make the trip to the 2016/2017 American Basketball Association playoffs this weekend. This is not their first rodeo in the playoff scene as they have made the playoffs in each of their first two years of existence as well under head coach Averill Pippens.

Last season, their playoff run took them to the windy city of Chicago, Illinois for the first round of the 2015/2016 playoffs. Unfortunately, that playoff run was cut short as they would fall to the Windy City Groove by the final score of 112-91. The Yellow Jackets have four players returning from last year's loss and they are more determined then ever to make a run at the elusive ABA Championship.

The road will not be easy, with the top seed being occupied by the undefeated DMV Warriors, who the Yellow Jackets played tight all season long. However, the goal from the beginning of the season has been to win a championship for the city of Pittsburgh. Coach Ace has preached this to the team all season long, and now he looks to put that preaching into action in the 2017 playoffs.

The Yellow Jackets were supposed to play a home game in the first round of the playoffs where they would have faced off against Team Network at the Neighborhood Academy. However, that game got cancelled and as a result the Yellow Jackets automatically advanced to the second round where they will travel to Muskegon, Michigan to take on the West Michigan Lake Hawks, a team they battled once already in the regular season.

In their only matchup of the regular season in Muskegon, Michigan the Yellow Jackets came out on top picking up a 107-101 victory. Antonio Reddic would lead the Yellow Jackets with 32 points on that night and was helped out by a fast start from the team. The road was not a kind place to the Yellow Jackets early in the season, but after that game against West Michigan, things started to click and the Jackets got better and better with each coming weekend.

The Yellow Jackets home record speaks for itself as they ended with a record of 10-3 at the Neighborhood Academy. That being said, the Yellow Jackets would have loved the opportunity to play at home in the playoffs, but they are excited for the opportunity to participate in the tournament for the third straight season.

The Yellow Jackets finished the 2016/2017 regular season in the top 20 of the American Basketball Association power rankings with their 14-8 record. They were helped out by a comeback victory over the number 18 ranked Fredericksburg Grizzlies 128-126 in overtime. It was the game that defined the season for the Yellow Jackets as they never gave up and picked up the much needed victory.

The Steel City Yellow Jackets are looking to keep up the winning tradition that is the standard in the Pittsburgh area. Coach Ace is excited to lead his team to the playoffs for the third straight year. He wants to help bring this city together through basketball and hopefully bring the city another championship to add to its trophy case. You can follow the Yellow Jackets playoff run live on Facebook and be sure to catch all of the recaps right here. Be sure to support and Catch the Buzz.

Johnathan Logan Follows Passion to the ABA

Johnathan Logan has known the sport of basketball his whole life. Ever since he was three years old, he always had a basketball in his hand. Today, Logan has made basketball part of his lifestyle and has followed that passion all the way to the professional level as part of the Steel City Yellow Jackets

Having a passion for something means devoting as much time as you can to that one thing in order to make yourself as successful as you can possibly be. However, turning that passion into a lifestyle takes time and dedication. You have to eat, sleep, dream, and live your passion weaving it into every single part of your life.

For Steel City Yellow Jacket Johnathan Logan, basketball has gone beyond a passion of his; it has turned into a lifestyle. Logan found the game of basketball when he was six years old, but from the time he was three his father had a basketball in his hand. It was all he ever knew and from that moment, his dad opened his eyes to what would become a career choice.

“My father introduced me to the game,” said Logan. “He was my influence in that matter. I used to play against him all the time; he’d rough me up and tell me to get back on my feet. I thin that’s where my toughness comes from.”

These long tiring days on the court is what eventually prepared Logan for the road ahead. Every time he was knocked down he would always stand right back up ready to go at it again. This perseverance would be crucial at the high school level, as it was an up and down road for Logan.

His first three years saw Logan playing on the Junior Varsity team at Fairmont High School in Fairmont, West Virginia with only minimal reps on the varsity level. Finally, Logan said enough is enough and spent the summer of his junior year working harder than he ever had. Logan says he was at every summer workout determined to better his game.

“After my junior year in high school, I finally dedicated myself to improvement of my game,” said Logan. “I didn’t miss a summer workout at all and I started as a senior and was a captain of the team. We made it to the regional championship game that season before getting our season cut short before the state title game.”

Because of all of his hard work going into his senior season, Logan was left with a choice after high school. He had two offers on the table. The first option was a full ride academic scholarship to Division III Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia where he could play his four years of basketball. The other option was to go to The Community College of Beaver County for two seasons and see what happens after that.

Logan would eventually choose to go to the Community College of Beaver County and in the end, it would turn out to be the right choice. He would play two seasons for CCBC where he averaged 10.5 points per game and lead the team with 26 blocked shots in his sophomore season. He would receive all-conference honors in his sophomore year as well before he transferred to play at Edinboro University.

This is where he would meet current teammate Isaiah Prince and together they would lead the Fighting Scotts to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Playoffs, a place they had not been for five years. Logan would finish his career at Edinboro with 495 points and averaging 9.3 points per game. He also collected 30 blocks in his two seasons to go along with 80 assists.

When asked if he would make the same college choice that he did again, Logan said he would do it in a heartbeat. He says he had more opportunities coming out of Edinboro then he did if he would have come out of a Division III school.

“It gave me better opportunities coming out of Junior College,” said Logan. “If I would have gone Division III then I wouldn’t have the same opportunities as I would have coming out of Junior College getting a full scholarship to a Division II school.”

One of the many opportunities he received at Edinboro University, was the chance to meet two of his current teammates in Isaiah Prince and Gilmore Cummings. These two were essential in getting Logan to the Yellow Jackets. Logan says he knew about the Yellow Jackets in their first year but was still in school. However, after playing against the Yellow Jackets later that year, he got his shot and came to the team the following season.

“I found the Steel City Yellow Jackets in their first year,” said Logan. “Unfortunately, I was still in school and couldn’t play, so I waited my turn and got the opportunity to face them with an ABA team in West Virginia called the Wildcats. [Coach Ace] saw me play in person and I had a good showing in those games which landed me to the Yellow Jackets the next year.”

The transition to the Steel City Yellow Jackets was helped out for Logan by the fact that he already had a good friend on the team in Gil Cummings. Logan says Cummings and he have a great relationship off the court and it has been beneficial for Logan both on and off the court.

“Me and Gil have a great relationship outside of basketball as well,” said Logan. “He mentioned the team to me and asked me to play this season and I accepted. He’s been a huge staple in getting me mentally prepared and ready for all the games. He continued to lead our squad to success this season.”

With great team leadership and a winning attitude, Logan found a home here in Pittsburgh with the Steel City Yellow Jackets. As Pittsburgh is trying to build more and more of a fan base of people to come out and watch their games, Logan is just happy to help this famous sports city build a reputation in the sport of basketball.

“It means a lot to represent a city with a professional basketball team in it and have people who enjoy watching you play,” said Logan. “I’m just happy for the opportunity honestly, but playing for the people and the city of Pittsburgh is great.”

It has been a long journey in the basketball world for Logan as he has risen up through the ranks as a high school athlete, to a college athlete, and all the way to his current position as a professional basketball player. There have been some difficulties for Logan throughout his basketball career, but he cherishes the journey basketball has taken him on and what it holds for him in the future.

“Growing up all I knew was basketball,” said Logan. “Basketball has taken me so many places and I have experienced so many things just by playing a simple game. I’m thankful for what it has brought me thus far.”

For Johnathan Logan the basketball dream lives on as he works hard every day to be the best player he can be, and help the Steel City Yellow Jackets in any way he can. After reaching the playoffs for the third year in a row, Logan looks to continue the winning tradition of the Steel City Yellow Jackets right here in Pittsburgh.