Bandits chased from playoffs by St. Louis

Tuesday, May 16, 2000 | 9:50 a.m.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Derek Grimm scored a game-high 25 points to lead St. Louis to a 119-107 victory over the visiting Silver Bandits in Game 2 of the IBL Western Conference finals Monday, eliminating Las Vegas from the playoffs.

St. Louis wrapped up the best-of-three series two games to none in front of 5,340 fans at Family Arena.

Game 1 of the IBL championship series between the Swarm and Richmond Rhythm will be Thursday in Richmond.

The Silver Bandits trailed by as many as 15 points late in the first half Monday. The Bandits closed the lead to 97-93 on a Michael Johnson 3-pointer with three minutes left in the fourth quarter before St. Louis went on a 7-0 run to seal it.

Danny Johnson had 23 points for St. Louis and Doug Smith finished with 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

J.R. Henderson, the IBL's top scorer and MVP candidate, led the Bandits with 24 points. Johnson finished with a season-best 18 points, Harold Ellis had 15 points, Marcus Liberty had 12 and Jeff Martin finished with 11.

The Bandits finished their season 39-30. St. Louis is a league-best 49-17 heading into the championship series.

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