Stampede douse Hotshots in home opener
Ramon Taylor had three crowd-pleasing dunks and a group of fans gathered around him for autographs after the game, but the Salem Stampede's guard deflected praise to teammate Eric Fiegi.
In Friday's home opener at the Salem Armory, Fiegi scored 35 points to lead the Stampede to a 134-111 victory against the Central Oregon Hotshots.
Fiegi said he won't challenge the 5-11 Taylor, who has a 45-inch vertical leap, for supremacy as the team's most electrifying dunker.
"Ramon's got the hang time stuff going on, so I've got to really pick and choose mine," Fiegi said with a smile.
It was Taylor's breakaway two-handed slam early in the second quarter that seemed to energize fans in the arena, which was at about half of its 2,500-seat capacity.
"It was real loud," Taylor said. "Once we continue to win, I think we'll get a more excited crowd."
The Stampede (2-0) led 66-46 at the break and were never seriously challenged in the second half.
Jeff Flowers (17 points), Jeff Dunn (16), and Michael Nunes (10) also scored in double figures for Salem. John Randolph paced the Hotshots (1-3) with 31 points.
Grayson Boucher, who is the most well-known Stampede player because of his role as "The Professor" on the And1 streetball tour, received the loudest ovation during pregame introductions.
A Keizer resident and Salem Academy graduate, Boucher turned in a solid floor game and added nine points.
"It was real special for me," said Boucher, who played one season at Chemeketa Community College before joining the streetball tour three years ago. "I love Salem and that this could be my homecourt one more time."
While courtside fans often chanted "defense, defense" during the game, the reality of the IBL is that it's a league designed to create offense. The Stampede scored 153 points in their opener.
Rarely do teams struggle to get off a shot before the 22-second shot clock expires.
"We really worked hard this week again on getting out on the break and getting some easy buckets in transition," coach Joe Becerra said. "I think if you can't get up for basketball in this environment, you're not going to get up for basketball."
The uptempo style lends itself to high-scoring shootouts, which can be exciting for fans who enjoy a run-and-gun style.
For a first-year franchise, the Stampede are off to a fast start.
IBL teams play a 20-game regular season followed by the league championship tournament July 13-16 in Elkhart, Ind.
"This was a great night for the city of Salem," Veliz said. "We really appreciate all the people who came out tonight for the Salem Stampede. I know it's a new thing, so I think people have to kind of get a little taste of it."
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Professor's State mit 10.5 Punkten ist nicht schlecht :thumb:
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