Matthew Aquino struggled in his second start as Shinshu was handed a 71-91 loss by Shimane in the 2021-22 B.League season, Saturday at Matsue City Gymnasium.
Aquino, who had 10 points last Wednesday, could not connect on his two field goal attempts, going scoreless with just one rebound in 17 minutes of action. He was foul-plagued the entire game.
The Brave Warriors fell behind 16-5 early and could not recover.
Perrin Buford and Ryo Abe put up nine points each in the opening frame for the Susanoo Magic.
Shinshu’s woes continued in the third frame as Seiya Ando caught fire, scoring 12 points in that span built on two triples.
Shimane’s lead would go to as high as 25 points, 66-41, with 4:35 left.
The Susanoo Magic went up to 14-6 while the Brave Warriors fell to 9-11, suffering their sixth straight loss.
Perrin Buford led Shimane with 22 points, nine rebounds, and three assists while Reid Travis had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field with seven rebounds and two steals.
Kosuke Kanamaru had 15 points built on four treys while Ando tallied 14 points and seven assists.
The nine-man Shinshu was led by Josh Hawkinson, who got 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Reo Maeda had 15 points while Anthony McHenry added 13 points.
Yang Jaemin chipped in 11 points as Yudai Okada missed the game.
Both squads face off again tomorrow.
