Wayne Marshall was clutch, lifting Shinshu to a thrilling 69-67 win over Hiroshima to advance to the fourth round of the 97th Emperor’s Cup, Monday at Kishiwada City Gym in Osaka, Japan.
With two seconds left and the game knotted at 67-all, Marshall made a heady play of boxing out the Dragonflies. He cleaned up Yuta Okada’s miss for the game-winning putback.
The Dragonflies were able to sue for time since there was still a couple of seconds left on the game clock. However, the Brave Warriors were able to make a stand to seal the victory.
Josh Hawkinson was huge for Shinshu, scoring 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field with 11 rebounds. Marshall had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Matt Aquino was not fielded in the contest.
Reo Maeda added 10 points as Shinshu struggled from deep, shooting just 4-of-23.
Shinshu now advances to the fourth round of the All-Japan Championship which takes place on December 1.
The Fireflies saw four players score in double-digits, with Charles Jackson leading the way with 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Nick Mayo added 14 points and five rebounds while Thomas Kennedy and Ryu Terashima had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Shinshu continues its B.League campaign this weekend when it faces Akita at White Ring.
