Edney erupts for 33 in seventh straight win
Ayer gets 22 points, 19 boards in his last game of season
Tyus Edney tossed in 19 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, guiding the L.A. Lightning to a 133-123 IBL basketball victory over the Arizona Raptors.
Edney arrived late to the benefit game at Agoura High due to traffic troubles. He didn’t enter until the second quarter and scored his 33 points in just 29 minutes. The 5-10 point guard converted 13-of-20 shots, mostly on quick drives to the basket, and had a pair of 3-pointers.
"We knew we could drive (the ball) and try to hurt ‘em on the pick-and-roll," said Edney, a former UCLA star who helped the Bruins capture their last NCAA championship in 1995. "That’s what we did in the second half – try to penetrate and make things happen."
Trayvon Lathan (25 points, 15 rebounds, six assists) had his seventh straight double-double and 10th of the season for the Lightning (13-2), who set a team record with their seventh straight win.
Chris Ayer, a 6-11 center from Loyola Marymount dominated inside with 22 points, a career-best 19 rebounds and four blocks.
It was the last appearance of the year for Ayer, who will leave next week to play for the British National Team. His mother was born in England.
"It was a tough night with (Juaquin) Hawkins being out and Freddy Vinson not being 100 percent, we needed everybody to pick up the slack," said Ayer. "It was great that Tyus got us all those points. They had a tough time guarding him."
In 12 games, Ayer averaged 17.4 points (on 60.3-percent shooting) and 9.4 rebounds. He had four double-doubles and set a new career high with 31 points on June 6.
Fred Vinson added 16 for L.A. while Bryon Russell had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Devon Green topped the Raptors with 32 points and nine rebounds, including seven offensive.
The Lightning outshot the visitors 57.5 to 42.5 percent but took 26 fewer shots and had nearly twice as many turnovers (20-11).
Ayer hit 7-9 from the field in the first half and had 16 points and seven rebounds as his team built a 67-58 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Arizona cut the deficit to two (115-113) on a low-post jumper by Bryson Krueger (19 points, seven rebounds) with 5:48 to play. It was still a two-point lead at 119-117 when Edney drove for a layup, Vinson hit a trey and Edney canned two free throws, stretching the lead to nine.
The Lightning will play their last four regular-season games on the road, starting with a three-game set at the Edmonton Energy in Canada on June 25-27.
