Sweet 16 for Funn

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Energy guard nails triple double

As wild and crazy a reputation the International Basketball League has for taking hoops to a new level, it may have outdone itself last night,

All the Edmonton Energy did was spot the defending IBL champion Bellingham Slam a 21-point first-quarter lead, then roared back to a 144-134 win.

Bellingham was unconscious out of the gate, hitting their first seven three-pointers - eight of 10 from outside the arc - and shooting 68%overall from the field as they jumped out to a 51-30 first-quarter lead.

"What we were saying on the bench was ’wow,’" said Energy head coach Paul Sir. "We knew at some point they’re human and it’s not going to sustain itself. To the guys’ credit, they refused to lose."

After the first quarter, the Energy simply outhustled, outworked and wore down the short-staffed Slam, who dressed only eight players.

"It’s something we talked about before the game," said Sir. "Forty-eight minutes is a long time. Either way, a big lead means nothing. We never panicked. It was a great night."

J.R. Patrick’s three-pointer midway through the third quarter busted open the game as the Energy took an 89-85 lead and never looked back.

"They couldn’t miss a shot," said Patrick. "With our character, we were able to fight back with more energy. Nobody can shoot that good in the whole game.They’re the defending champs, but we were able to battle back.

"Thankfully, I was able to make some baskets, everybody else got hot and we were able to win. For us to be able to come back showed a lot of character.

Patrick hit four three-pointers and finished with 30 points.

Will Funn, who Sir called "the perfect point guard," had a unique triple double, scoring 16 points, hauling down 16 rebounds and dishing out 16 assists.

"I never felt like it was done," said Funn. "They was hitting every shot. We finally made it happen. We knew they were the defending champs and they were going to hit us with their best shot, but we had to respond.

"Once we responded, the confidence started growing. Everybody started feeling good again."

After a slow start, Stephen Sir was one of those players who turned it on down the stretch, chipping in 26 points.

"Like everybody could see, Bellingham can really, really shoot," said Sir. "We started out real slow and they made us pay. The great thing about the IBL and I guess the crappy thing if you’re ahead by 20 is the other team can get right back in it.

"Luckily for us, the shots started falling and we started taking a bit more pride on defence ... if you consider giving up 134 points pride, I guess. For us to come back after being down 20 was really cool."

A desperate Edmonton crew, led by a dominant performance by big man Lee Scruggs, ran off the first nine points of the second quarter. As Bellingham’s long-ball shooters cooled off, the Energy chipped away to go into the half-time locker room down 77-68.

Edmonton finished with a flourish, outscoring the Slam 114-83 in the final three quarters. The teams meet again tonight at 7:15 at MacEwan.

CON.GRIWKOWSKY@SUNMEDIA.CA