Slam falls at Edmonton

The Bellingham Slam couldn’t benefit from a dominant first quarter as they were defeated by the Edmonton Energy 144-134 in an International Basketball League divisional contest at the Grant MacEwan Centre on Friday, May 15.

The 144 points allowed set a new team record for defensive futility for the Slam. The previous record was 138, set in a 138-119 loss to the American Basketball Association’s San Jose Skyrockets on March 22, 2006.

The loss spoiled a solid performance by Tyler Amaya, who recorded a triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and ten assists. Jacob Stevenson also scored 31, while Jake Linton finished with 26 points and six assists.

Edmonton was led by Will Funn, who finished with a rare 16-16-16 triple-double of points, assists and rebounds. J.R. Patrick paced the Energy in the scoring column with 30 points.

Rebounding once again proved to be the achilles heel for the Slam, as they were dominated 70-39 on the glass.

The Slam and Energy face off again on Saturday, with a 7:15 p.m. tip-off set for the Grant MacEwan Centre in Edmonton.