Austin Toros Sweep 2 Games From the Armor

Terrance Woodbury

(12/30/2011 - Cedar Park, TX) The (9-3) Austin Toros ran past the (7-7) Springfield Armor 104-92 in the second game of a back to back rematch.  Led by Terrance Woodbury with 23 points and Justin Dentmon with 21 points, the Toros bullied their way to their third straight win.

"We're super-excited to win 2 in a row against a real good Springfield team," say Austin Toros Head Basketball Coach Brad Jones.  "I thought our guys came out and had, for the most part, a really good effort all night long.  I thought our defense really took them apart, especially in the 2nd quarter."

The Toros outscored the Armor 29-12 with a dominating performance in the second quarter to go into halftime with a comfortable 53-38 halftime lead, thanks in large part to Jamarr Sanders' 11 point and 7 rebound effort in the first half.  The defense was was so punishing that with about 2 and a half minutes to go in the 2nd quarter, the Toros' had held the Armor to just 4 points.

"I thought that was the difference in the game.  I thought that (2nd quarter) kind of broke their spirit a little bit," continues Coach Jones.

Opposing teams don't want to give Coach Brad Jones the lead at half time.  The Toros improved their mark to 6-0 when leading at the half.

"It was a dogfight tonight.  I'm just glad we were able to pull it out," says Terrance Woodbury, who, along with Justin Dentmon, was awarded the Co-Player of the Game. 

Box Score Courtesy of the NBA D League

While the 2nd half never really seemed to be in any doubt, the coach still managed to express concern over his team letting a large lead 'slip away'. 

"We kinda let them back in the game, didn't we?  They got it within 9 points in the 4th quarter... I think our biggest lead was 23," says the Coach.  "Every time out, we kept imploring our guys to keep playing, keep playing."

It seems that all year long, Coach Jones has been preaching consistency.  Having the same roster for more than 2 consecutive nights will probably help.  But has all the roster changes had a negative impact on the Toros performance?  Terrance Woodbury doesn't buy into that.

"We've had a lot of guys coming and going, but that's the nature of the business," says Woodbury.  "We just have to make adjustments every single day in practice and try to bring it to the court and hopefully it works."

Watch the full Terrance Woodbury interview here:



The Toros next play at the Cedar Park Center this Thursday versus the Maine Red Claws, who just signed former NBA star Ricky Davis to their team.

"Even thought they (Maine) don't have a great record, they've got just about a brand new team, so it's going to be a great challenge for us" says Coach Jones.  "I'd like to wish all of our fans a Happy New Year...hopefully we have bigger and better things to come for us in 2012."

Watch the full Coach Brad Jones interview here:



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Toros Pierce the Springfield Armor in a Thriller 105-100!

(12/29/2011-Cedar Park, TX) - Oh how nice it is to have the new additions of Leo Lyons, Luke Zeller, and Da'Sean Butler running with the Toros.

Leo Lyons is Back!

All 3 players helped lead the charge as the 8-3 Austin Toros outlasted the 7-6 Springfield Armor in a thriller that was tight from beginning to end.  Lyons had been nursing a broken foot, and Butler & Zeller were just resigned after being waived by the San Antonio Spurs.

Player of the Game Eric Dawson threw down 28 points and collected 11 boards for the Toros and Justin Dentmon, scoring 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, put the game away from the charity stripe with more of his clutch shooting from the free throw line.

JamesOn Curry and L.D. Williams lead the charge for the Armor with 22 points a piece.

Box Score Courtesy of the NBA Development League.

THE COACHES' CORNER


A relieved Coach Brad Jones discussed the game with the Armor:



"This was probably the best overall game we've been apart of all year long as far as both teams competing and both teams trying to do the right things," said Toros Coach Brad Jones after the game.  "I feel fortunate to get the win.  Springfield definitely came in here ready to play."

The game featured 15 lead changes and neither team ever lead by more than 8 points.

As has been the case all season for the Toros, there were some more roster shakeups this week, with not just the return of Lyons and Zeller, but also with the addition of Da'Sean Butler.  Butler, the former West Virginia grad who was the 2nd round pick of the Miami Heat in last years draft, has been recovering from injury and was playing for the first time in 2 years.

"We're monitoring him (Butler) a little bit and trying to get him back to full speed," say Coach Jones.  "But I thought he came in and really gave us a good effort."

Butler finished the game with 6 points and 5 rebounds in just over 17 minutes of play.

Now that the NBA Rosters have been set and it appears that roster moves may calm down a bit, how does the coach feel about his lineup?

"Hopefully we'll get to keep this group for awhile and have some continuity because I'm really feeling good about the group we have right now."

If you missed this Holiday Hoops classic, the good news is that you have a chance to watch the rematch tomorrow night.

"If fans want to see a real good basketball game, they should come to the Cedar Park Center tomorrow night at 7:30pm because Springfield is very well coached; they've got some real good, tough players on their team.  Hopefully our guys will give the type of effort they gave today.  It'll probably have to be even better because good team bounce back and they'll give us all they have tomorrow."

Here are the highlights from today's game:



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The True Meaning of the D-League

Squeaky Johnson

I received a text message on Christmas Eve morning with some amazing news. It simply said, "They made it!" The text message was referring to two individuals who are world-class athletes and have been community champions for the Austin Toros for the last seven years combined.

 Lance Thomas and Squeaky Johnson have realized their dream of making it to the NBA by earning a spot on the New Orleans Hornets' opening night roster.

This is the true meaning of the NBA Development League. Watching two basketball players work their tails off day in and day out, most times twice a day and every day in the offseason and then seeing them achieve what they set out to achieve is a special thing to be a part of.

For Squeaky, it was five years in the making, leading him to joke that he was the oldest rookie in the NBA. 

Our players don't make a lot of money in the D-League but they'd play for zero if they knew they could have a chance to play in the NBA. And when hard work and determination pay off, it makes our job that much more enjoyable. But the best part of Lance and Squeaky's accomplishment is the fact that they are fantastic individuals with contagious personalities. They're leaders both on the court and in the community, believing that giving back is a responsibility of every professional athlete.

We'll miss their contributions with the Toros but know that they will continue to work for their dream and become stars at the next level. Congratulations Lance and Squeaky! You both deserve this call-up to the NBA!

12/23/11- Toros Stomp Mad Ants 110-98

FINAL

AUS
FWN

29	24	30	27	110
21	19	35	23	98

Welcome back Justin!

With the return of Justin Dentmon, the 7-3 Austin Toros defeated the 4-6 Fort Wayne Mad Ants 110-98 Friday night at the Memorial Coliseum. The Toros ran up a 15 point lead midway through the first quarter and never relented. Each of the starting 5 ended up in double digits with Dentmon and Terrance Woodbury leading the way with 19 points a piece and Eric Dawson contributing with a solid double double (18pts and 13 boards).

Fort Wayne turned the ball over five times and shot just 34 percent helping the Toros to take a commanding 13 point lead into halftime.

Fort Wayne’s deficit grew to 17 before Walker Russell caught fire, dropping 17 points of his own in the third quarter alone to shave the Toro's lead down to just eight heading into the fourth quarter. But the Toros maintained control of the game, and despite getting as close as five points early into the fourth, the Toros rebuilt their lead safely back to double digits and maintained that advantage until the final buzzer.

Cameron Jones led the Mad Ants with a game-high 25 points, and Russell followed with 24.

Here's the box score from the game:

Source of box score: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20111223/AUSFWN/gameinfo.html

Don't forget, the next Austin Toros home game is this Thursday, December 29, at the special Holiday Hoops time of 1pm.  It's a great time to bring the family out to the basketball game as your Toros take on the 6-4 Springfield Armor in what is sure to be a shootout.

Below are video highlights of the game courtesy of the Indiana News Center:



Source of video:  http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/sports/Ants-Fall-at-Home-For-Second-Straight-Night-136174953.html

Holiday Hoops

As we head into the holidays, the team has started the season strong with a 6-3 record. Amazing job by our coaching staff who had to endure an obscene amount of roster changes while the NBA pillaged the D-League for training camps. But as final NBA cuts are right around the corner, we're ready to get back to full strength and continue our great play on the court. Every day even I find myself checking to see who the Spurs will sign and release so I can daydream about how potent a team we'll have over the next week or two. In the meantime, we're looking forward to a tough game against Jeff Potter's Ft. Wayne Mad Ants on Friday night. There's no doubt the game will be an exciting one to watch!

On the business front, we're getting ready to host our first Holiday Hoops game next Thursday with a special 1pm start time. We've invited all of the area daycare centers and after school holiday camps to join us for what should be a fun and interactive game. Then on Friday night it's Resolution Night with the Toros. Before you start that new diet and workout routine, cut out the adult beverages and throw away the sweets, come out for one last night of guilt pleasures...$3 beers, $2 sodas and $1 hot dogs! (Okay, maybe not that guilty.)

Don't forget to 'Like' us on our Austin Toros Facebook Fan Page for free prizes!

And at home, Charlie is almost 7 weeks old and growing leaps and bounds! His first holiday season has him getting present after present. He enjoyed his first Toros game last weekend and he'll have to keep coming because he's daddy's new good luck charm since we beat the Legends that game. We're excited to celebrate his first holiday and New Year and have plenty of outfits to take pictures with...ah, proud parents we are!

Happy Holidays to all and to all a Toros victory!

12/18/11 - Toros Defeat Legends 116-99

Six Toros scored in double digits as Austin beat the Texas Legends 116-99 at the Cedar Park Center in front of a crowd of more than three thousand fans. The Toros advanced their record to 6 -3 while the Legends drop to 2-8. Solomon Bozeman and Myles McKay led the way as Bozeman scored 21 and McKay scored 20.


Tristan Thompson gave the Toros their first lead by swishing a three point basket with 9:35 left in the first quarter. After the three, the Toros went on a seven to zero run to take a 12-4 lead. The Toros went on to dominate the first half, ending it at 62-42. The Toros' Eric Dawson, Bozeman, Omar Reed, and Thompson all had double digits by halftime.






The Legends came out firing in the second half, scoring the first seven points of the quarter. The Toros' lead was reduced to five points, 74-69, with 4:57 left in the third quarter. Anthony Vereen had 23 points for the Legends at the start of the fourth.

The Toros went on an 11-2 run to start the fourth, taking a 96-80 lead with 8:08 left in the game. The Toros regained their twenty point lead, 110 to 90, with 5:43 left in the game off a Dan Vandervieren dunk. A 17 point lead would be the difference as the Toros beat the Texas Legends for the third time this season. Jamarr Sanders(12), Dawson(14), Reed(18), Thompson(13), McKay(20),and Bozeman(21) were the six Toros to score in double digit figures. The Legends also had four players score at least ten points, with Vereen scoring 25 and Johnson scoring 21.

Source: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20111218/TEXAUS/gameinfo.html