The King County Royals used a gutsy effort to earn a comeback win against the Tijuana Dragons, 118-115, in an American Basketball Association game Wednesday night at the Wellness Center at North Seattle Community College.
King County (2-4), which trailed by as much as 18 points in the game, stormed back in the second half to steal their second win of the season against a shorthanded Tijuana squad. A Vershan Cottrell free throw 3:31 into the fourth quarter gave the Royals their first lead, at 100-99, since the game's opening stages. A Jamie Booker steal and layup with the 3-D rule in effect 30 seconds later gave them their largest advantage of the game at six points, 105-99.
After Tijuana (3-4) was able to re-take the lead with 1:46 remaining on an off-balance Gene Shipley jumper, Shamon Antrum restored King County's lead for good when he hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc on the very next possession.
Tijuana had two separate chances to take the lead with under thirty seconds to play, but turned the ball over both times, once by mishandling the ball and the final time thanks to a questionable charging call. The Dragons did have a chance to tie the score in the game's final possession, but Reynardo Curry was unable to get a decent look and his desperation shot missed badly.
Tijuana was led by Curry's 30 points. He was followed closely by Mike Jones, who recorded a double-double with 26 points and 15 rebounds.
King County was paced by the hot shooting of guards Kyle Keyes and Randy Green, who scored 29 and 27 points, respectively.
The Royals return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 27 as they take on the Bellingham Slam. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Wellness Center at North Seattle Community College.
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American Basketball Association - Official Game Box Score
King County Royals vs. Tijuana Dragons
Date: 12/20/2006 Time: 8:00 PM Attendance: 50
Site: Wellness Center at North Seattle C.C. - Seattle, WA
Visitors: Tijuana Dragons (3-4) REBOUNDS
## Name P FG 3Pt FT PTS OF DF TR PF AS TO BS ST MIN
3 Calvin Melaney C 1/7 0/2 0/0 2 1 3 4 5 0 4 0 3 23
20 John Walker C 1/3 0/0 0/0 2 1 3 4 4 0 1 0 1 9
5 *Reynardo Curry G 13/18 1/1 3/5 30 0 3 3 4 4 2 0 2 48
23*Clifford Washington F 6/10 0/0 9/14 21 1 2 3 3 5 1 0 2 46
32*Kareen Grant F 9/18 1/2 0/0 19 2 0 2 5 0 6 1 2 47
44*Mike Jones F 11/19 2/6 2/2 26 4 11 15 4 1 1 0 3 42
8 *Gene Shipley F 5/9 0/0 3/8 13 1 5 6 1 1 3 0 1 26
Team 2 2 1 3
Totals 47/85 4/11 17/29 115 12 28 40 26 11 18 1 14 240
Total FG 1st Half 28/46 60.9% 2nd Half 19/39 48.7% Game 47/85 55.3%
3 PT FG 1st Half 3/8 37.5% 2nd Half 1/3 33.3% Game 4/11 36.4%
Total FT 1st Half 6/11 54.5% 2nd Half 11/18 61.1% Game 17/29 58.6%
Home: King County Royals (2-4) REBOUNDS
## Name P FG 3Pt FT PTS OF DF TR PF AS TO BS ST MIN
23 Wale Adeyemi F 3/3 0/0 0/0 6 2 4 6 6 1 0 0 0 15
2 *Kyle Keyes G 12/23 5/9 0/0 29 2 4 6 4 12 5 0 2 37
20*Randy Green G 12/21 3/9 0/0 27 1 2 3 3 4 1 1 1 36
34 Shamon Antrum G 4/5 2/3 4/4 14 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 1 19
21*Jeffrey Day C 3/8 0/0 2/2 8 3 3 6 2 2 1 1 3 33
24*J.D. Hulleen F 1/4 0/1 0/0 2 2 4 6 6 2 2 3 2 30
1 Vershan Cottrell G 6/13 0/5 3/7 15 1 3 4 1 3 5 0 0 30
3 *Jamie Booker F 7/13 2/4 0/1 16 3 6 9 2 1 4 0 1 40
Team 1 2 4 6 3
Totals 48/90 12/31 10/15 118 16 30 46 27 28 2
