Bandits fall to Stars

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, March 28, 2000 | 10:19 a.m.

Las Vegas Silver Bandits coach Rolland Todd is usually confident that by the time the fourth quarter comes, the five players he puts on the court will outlast the opposition.

On Monday night he wasn't so sure and as it turned out, his premonition was right.

The Trenton Shooting Stars pummeled the fatigued Silver Bandits 99-84 before an estimated 1,000 at the Thomas & Mack Center in the first game of a four-game homestand.

"They were here since Friday practicing and getting rest," Todd reasoned. "We were in San Diego getting on a plane at 6 this morning to come back here.

"It was like a road game."

But the fact that Las Vegas' (29-21) three-game win streak was stopped is secondary to the fact that the team will finally be bought and run by local owners in the next few days.

According to sources close to the Silver Bandits, a majority of the team will be purchased by a group of former UNLV players headed by Reggie Theus and Jackie Robinson.

It is expected that the deal will be announced on Wednesday at a news conference.

Currently, the team is owned by a group of private investors based in Phoenix, who agreed to sell the team once a local owner was found.

The tired-looking Silver Bandits didn't make the game very interesting after the first quarter when the score was tied 23-23.

The Shooting Stars opened up the second quarter with an 11-3 run sparked by consecutive layups by Raymond Tutt, and never trailed again.

"It's the first time all year we've gotten blown out except for at Cincinnati when we were missing a lot of guys," Todd said. "In every season you have a game like that."

Rocky Walls got his league-best 29th double-double with 11 points and 17 rebounds, but he would have had an ugly triple double if you counted turnovers.

Walls accounted for 11 of the team's 24 miscues.

"I just didn't take care of the ball," he said.

The errant passes and air balls coupled with many missed shots caused the Silver Bandits to self-destruct while the Shooting Stars flourished in the up-tempo game.

Because of the frenetic pace of the game, the Silver Bandits were hurt by the fact that key reserve Marcus Liberty was out with an elbow injury, Doug Lee was still out with a hamstring injury and player/coach Mark Wade was out with a separated shoulder.

"In a game where we would have had our bench, we would have been better off," Todd said. "The eight guys we had, they played hard."

Maybe a little too hard for Trenton.

Las Vegas' Doug Swenson committed four rough fouls. The final one, committed with 5:12 left in the game, sent Trenton's Alvin Young, who scored a game-high 26 points, straight to the training room.

Swenson collapsed onto Young while the latter was making one of his many acrobatic layups, causing Young to slam onto the floor.

Young hit the floor so hard that he incurred a gash on his forehead above an eye that required stitches and a sprained wrist.