Balanced Scoring Effort Propels Express Men's Basketball to 103-62 Home Win Over Henry Ford

By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---A balanced scoring effort, along with a phenomenal 3-point shooting performance, led the Express men's basketball team past Henry Ford Community College 103-62 in the SHAC tonight.

Bikramjit Gill (Our Ascension of the Lord/Toronto, Ontario, Canada),Tony Boykins (Loy Norrix/Kalamazoo, Mich.) and Kenny Jones(Clay/South Bend, Ind.) each had 13 points to lead the Express in scoring, while John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) and Edmond Early (Thurgood Marshall/Dayton, Ohio) each added 11.

In addition to them, three other players had nine points apiece, while another had eight and another had seven. Every player that played significant minutes had at least seven points.

As a team, the Express finished 36-for-69 (52.2 percent) from the field overall, 14-for-29 (48.3 percent) from 3-point range and 17-for-22 (77.3 percent) from the foul line.

Tonight's game was the third time the Express have cracked the century mark in scoring. They nearly broke their single-game team highs in field goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage.

The Express jumped out to an 8-0 lead early as four players had two points each. Following a Henry Ford timeout, Murry had seven straight points for the Express, followed by a dunk from Jones, to put the Express up 17-4 with 15:33 left in the half.

Henry Ford cut the lead to 19-13 with just under 13 minutes left, but the Express went on an 11-2 run - capped by a 3-pointer from Jones that put them up 30-15 with 9:34 left. The Express closed out the final 7:16 of the half on a 19-12 run to take a 55-34 lead into the break.

With 14:10 remaining, the Express had a 60-44 lead before blowing the game open via an 18-8 run. A short time after that, Andy Bachman(North Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) hit the third of three straight 3-pointers for him, followed by 3-pointers from Early and Boykins that gave the Express an 87-55 lead with 8:07 left.

Up 93-60, the Express closed the game on a 10-2 run, capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Markese Allen (Crockett/Detroit, Mich.) and Early.

The Express were led in rebounding by Gill, who had nine. In addition to him, Murry had seven, while Bachman, Jones and Antoine Benford (East English Village/Detroit, Mich.) each had six.

Shaakir Lindsey (Teaneck/Teaneck, N.J.) had team-highs in assists (6) and steals (3), while Bachman and Early each added four assists. Gill contributed in steals (2) and had a team-high two blocks, as well.

Henry Ford finished 20-for-64 (31.2 percent) from the field, 2-for-9 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range and 20-for-35 (57.1 percent) from the foul line. The Express out-rebounded Henry Ford 49-35, although Henry Ford had a 15-14 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Henry Ford was led by Marcus Williams, who had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Daton Aaron had 16 points, three steals and two assists. Richard Reno Boyd had a team-high five assists.

The Express (7-3), who have now won four of their past five games, will travel to Midland, Mich. for the Conway Classic this weekend. On Friday, they will play host-school Delta College at 8 p.m. before taking on Erie Community College at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Notes

Bachman, who scored a career-high 23 points in an earlier 82-69 win over Henry Ford on the road, didn't attempt a shot until midway through the second half tonight. However, he finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

Murry (13.8), Bachman (12.5) and Gill (11.2) lead the Express so far this season in scoring average. The team has eight players overall averaging at least seven points a game, with Jones (6.7) not far behind.