By Dave Loveton, Director of Media Relations

Game 7 – Lightning 128, Holland Blast 123
Friday, May 16, 2008  

Murray leads Lightning to first win  

 THOUSAND OAKS – It wasn’t easy but it was the first IBL basketball win in franchise history and that’s all the L.A. Lightning cared about after holding off the Holland (Mich.) Blast 128-123 on Friday night at Cal Lutheran.

 Ex-NBA star Lamond Murray tossed in a season-high 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Lightning (1-6), who led 66-45 at intermission and stretched the margin to 31 (82-51) on a 3-pointer by Fred Vinson with 7:42 to go in the third period.

 The Blast cut the deficit to 100-87 entering the fourth and got within three with 18 seconds to play.

 “It feels good, I’m happy for the guys,” said L.A. coach Ron Quarterman. “In this game, no lead is safe. That’s a high-powered offense over there (Holland averages a league-best 143) and they got on a roll. I was happy that my guys stayed focused.”

 Dennis Springs, a 5-6 point guard, led all scorers with 34 points for Holland, which dropped its fourth straight to fall to 8-4. Springs nearly had a triple-double with nine rebounds and nine assists.

 Vinson knocked down 6-of-10 from 3-point country and tallied 22 points while Murray hit five treys, including four straight in the second quarter. Wayne Oliver collected 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ronell Mingo tossed in 22 points and grabbed eight of his nine boards on offense.

 The Lightning outrebounded the visitors 68-53.

 Holland’s Jerad Bledsoe, the No. 3 scorer in the IBL at 29.3, missed the contest with a torn Achilles.

 The Blast cut the deficit to six at 112-106 on a tip-in by Bryan Edwards (22 points) with six minutes to play. Two minutes later, Oliver jammed in an alley-oop pass  by point guard Haron Hargrave to make it 120-108.

 Holland hit two quick 3’s, however, and got within three on a layup with 21 seconds left before Hargrave hit two free throws to seal the win.

 Phil Givens added 17 points and Hargrave had eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals in his Lightning debut.