Bandits droop in home opener

Victoria Sun

Friday, Dec. 15, 2000 | 9:49 a.m.

After winning their season opener on the road last weekend, the Las Vegas Bandits wanted to successfully defend their home court against visiting Richmond Thursday night.

The Bandits played well in spurts, but it was not enough to give the announced crowd of 3,582 anything to cheer about when the final buzzer sounded.

The Rhythm opened up the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run en route to a 111-101 victory over the Bandits at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Bandits fell to 1-1 while the Rhythm improved to 1-2.

"We couldn't make any shots," Bandits head coach Lionel Hollins said. "And then they kept making shots to take the lead and I think maybe we pressed a little bit.

"Our big men got into foul trouble and that hurt us."

The Rhythm was led by Derrick Johnson, who made 11-of-12 field goals for a game-high 29 points. J.R. Henderson scored a team-high 22 points for the Bandits while Eddie Gill contributed 20 points and eight assists.

Johnson scored the Rhythm's first six points of the fourth quarter on a jumper, a layup after he stole the ball and another reverse layup to give the team a 91-87 advantage.

Conversely, the Bandits made just 7-of-29 shots in the final quarter and committed seven of their 20 turnovers.

Las Vegas had numerous attempts, but kept missing five-foot jump shots and tip-ins around the basket. During one possession, the Bandits' J.R. Koch went up for a rebound too soon and was called for offensive interference. Later, the Rhythm forced the Bandits to commit a shot-clock violation.

"We just had a ton of mistakes," Gill said. "We just didn't complete plays.

"We just weren't clicking offensively. Our timing was off. I feel like the game was there for us to win. Missed shots and turnovers were our downfall."

Las Vegas' Frantz Pierre-Louis had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Richmond's Kareem Reid added 23 points.

The Bandits won't have much time to dwell on the loss. Tonight they play the New Mexico Slam in Albuquerque.

Hollins had hoped for a better performance in the team's home opener.

"I'm disappointed," he said. "Disappointed.

"I like to win every game. I thought after getting that tough win on the road we would come out with more energy and ready to play. I heard they practiced really great earlier in the week (while Hollins was away taking care of a personal matter). We have just got to go out and start working again to get better."

HARVEY'S BACK: The Bandits re-signed former Utah guard Tony Harvey on Thursday after the team granted former Texas guard Reggie Freeman his release. Freeman had been offered a job playing overseas in France. After the team signed Harvey, Freeman found out the deal to go to France was off. Freeman attended the game and said he may be picked up by another IBL team.