Bandits win 8th straight contest

Zack Hall

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 12:43 p.m.

It had been a long time since the Las Vegas Silver Bandits had run up and down the Thomas and Mack Center -- seven games to be precise.

It was up to them to show the small Las Vegas crowd what they showed to the rest of the league on a recent 7-0 road trip.

The Silver Bandits did, using impressive second and third periods to overcome the International Basketball League's top team -- the Cincinnati Stuff (14-3) -- 110-103 Wednesday night.

The win was the eighth straight for Las Vegas -- the longest winning streak this season in the IBL -- and pushed its season mark to 11-10 after starting the season 3-10.

"I think a lot is getting to know each other," Bandits coach Rolland Todd said. "I never questioned our talent. I thought we had good players, but it takes awhile to get a feel for each other, especially when you are a team that runs."

With the two of the most prolific scorers in the IBL this season -- the Stuff's Tremain Fowlkes and Las Vegas' J.R. Henderson -- going head-to-head, some probably figured that matchup would be the key to the game.

Both Henderson and Fowlkes scored above their averages, with 26 and 24, respectively. But it was Silver Bandits reserve forward Harold Ellis who led the team with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

"We started off slow so we needed somebody to come off the bench and give us some energy," Ellis said. "I felt like tonight I couldn't miss. I felt like I needed to help the team. I was both lucky and blessed tonight."

The Bandits looked sluggish at the start, falling behind 27-16 after the first 12 minutes.

But Ellis scored 10 points in the second period -- including a span where he scored eight consecutively -- to pull Las Vegas within three, 53-50, at halftime.

In the third, the Bandits caught fire and Cincinnati fell victim to poor shooting.

Down by nine with 8:57 to play in the third, the Bandits went on a 21-2 run over a span of 5:43. Guard Doug Lee poured in a trio of 3-pointers to spearhead the run as the Bandits took an 81-71 advantage.

Meanwhile, the Stuff went without a field goal until Chris Kingsbury hit a 3 with 1:50 in the period.

"It (the run) was persistence," said Bandits' guard Isaac Burton, who scored 20 points, dished nine assists and had four steals. "All 12 of us, we never say that we are out of the game. Whether we are down by 20 or down by two, we always think we are still in the game. I think that shows the character of this team."

The Stuff was never able to get within five points of the Bandits in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas hit 6-of-8 from the line in the final 1:31 to ice the victory.