JAMES FINALLY HITS PAYDIRT
Damion James can heave that sigh of relief now.
After suffering three straight losses since he came into the Alaska fold, the 27-year-old hardworker finally delivered for the Aces, stopping their three-game slide and keeping their quarterfinal hopes alive with an 82-68 win over Blackwater on Wednesday.
“We needed that win so bad. We know our backs are against the wall so we really came out. It was a good game and we really needed it,” said James.
The former Texas Longhorn posted a huge 20-20 game with his 29 points and 22 rebounds. The numbers don’t matter much though. He’s just glad to finally notch that elusive W.
“Every time we lose, it’s tough. I didn’t come here to lose basketball games so I’m just happy that we won,” James said, as Alaska improved to 3-5.
But more than anything, the 6-foot-7 James seems to have finally meshed with his teammates just in time as the Aces move into the homestretch of the elims.
On Wednesday, coach Alex Compton tried a big lineup with James playing at the small forward position.
“He’s a versatile guy and he knows how to play the three and the four. That really helped us big tonight,” the coach said.
And that’s just fine with James. “It doesn’t really matter what position I play,” he said. “I’m a basketball player. My high school coach taught me to be a basketball player so I was able to adjust that easily to whatever is asked of me.” (RL)
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