Las Vegas, NV-  In a battle of high scoring offenses, the Firestorm (9-2) came up short against the Morningside Mustangs 94-87. Early in the game, the Firestorm did their part to set the tone jumping out to a 15-3 lead. 

Senior Forward Patson Siame got the start and came out of the gates swinging, with seven points early on. The Mustangs would settle down after a jumper by Trey Brown, and would respond with an 18-5 run to give them the lead midway through the first half. The rest of the half would set the tone for the rest of the game as both teams took turns swapping punches with each other. The Mustangs closed out the half on a 10-3 run to give them a 46-40 lead at the break.

With both teams having a reputation of being high scoring, there was little surprise from anyone to see them combine for 24 three-pointers on the day. The second half saw more of the same, as the teams almost matched each other in every offensive category. The Firestorm never led in the second half but definitely had some opportunities. With the Mustangs never leading by more than eight, and seeing their lead cut to one possession multiple times, both teams were in striking distance through the half. A late three-pointer by Matt Willkomm, a missed free-throw by the Mustangs, and a quick layup by newcomer Torrian Epps, saw the Firestorm trailing by only four points with 38 seconds left to play. Coming out a timeout, the Firestorm looked to be on the verge of forcing a huge turnover as Willkomm got his hands on a half court heave by the Mustangs. But an in-air collision knocked the ball lose, and the Mustangs were able to deliver the knockout punch on a layup.

The Firestorm were led by their senior guard duo of Willkomm (21 points), and Sam Finley (19 points) with Callum Lawson (14 points), and newcomer Epps (13 points) both also scoring in double digits. As a team, the Firestorm shot 53.6% from the field (12-28 from three).

The Las Vegas Hoopla will continue tomorrow as the Firestorm will face off against the University of British Columbia (5pm MT, 4pm PT).

You can view the game via Stretch Internet at the link below. The cost is $8.95 per game.

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/triplvh/