Bandits edge Slam in playoff preview

Victoria Sun

Monday, May 1, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

Unless the final game of the regular season represents an opportunity for a team to gain homecourt advantage for the pending playoffs, it is usually little more than a formality.

So it wouldn't have been surprising if the finale between the Silver Bandits and the New Mexico Slam turned out to be mundane. After all, the Slam had already clinched homecourt advantage for the first round of the inaugural International Basketball League playoffs.

Instead, both teams played like they were vying for the championship Sunday.

The Silver Bandits put on a sparkling performance, committing seven fewer turnovers and amassing nine more assists and seven more steals than New Mexico in a 120-117 victory before an announced crowd of 2,454 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Bandits even fixed their recent woes behind the 3-point arc, making 14-of-25 attempts, including Jeff Martin's with three seconds left that sealed the win.

"Coming out of the timeout, the plan was for J.R. (Henderson) to go one-on-one," said Martin, who finished with 22 points, one shy of his season high. "J.R. told me he was going to look for me to take the shot, so I was looking for it to shove it down."

As expected, when Henderson drove the lane, the defense collapsed inside, leaving Martin wide open on the right.

The win, combined with the Silver Bandits' four-point victory over the Slam on Friday at the Mack, gave Las Vegas the two-game sweep it wanted heading into the playoffs, which begin Friday. The Silver Bandits (37-27) will host the Slam (38-25) in the first game of a three-game series. The teams split the season series 6-6.

"Our goal was to go out and win both games this weekend, not just one," Martin said. "It was important for us to let them know that we can beat them here.

"We wanted to send a message that when they come down here, they're going to be in for a fight."

And it was a physical game, with three technical fouls called on the Slam (two on guard Jason Sasser, ejected in the second quarter) and two called on the Silver Bandits.

Henderson scored 19 of his team-high 24 points in the first half, and Eric Schraeder and Isaac Burton each had 13.

An 11-2 run by the Silver Bandits sparked by Doug Lee's 3-pointer with 8:40 left -- and capped by another 3-pointer by Lee -- gave Las Vegas a 113-101 lead. But New Mexico responded with 12 unanswered points to tie it at 113.

"We have a tendency to get up and get full of ourselves and not concentrate," Silver Bandits coach Barry Hecker said. "That's what happened, I guess.

"But with the Slam, I expected them not to give up. All of our games with them have been real close. They're a really good team. I figured they would come back at us."

After Martin's final shot, the Slam had one more possession, but Corey Carr's 3-point attempt was blocked by Bandits defender Michael Johnson.

"Johnson, Lee, Doug Swenson, DeAndre Hulett, they all did one hell of a job," Hecker said of the Bandits' bench.