Matthew Aquino and Shinshu suffered a late collapse against Gunma, absorbing a tough 87-90 loss in the 2021-22 B.League season, Saturday at Ota City Athletic Park Citizen’s Gymnasium.
The Brave Warriors were up by as much as 11 points in the game and 82-81 after a Reo Maeda with 1:10 left.
Michael Parker though was able to clean up a Justin Keenan miss. Keenan then atoned for his miss afterward to extend the Crane Thunders’ lead to three with 33 seconds left.
After a Keenan split from the stripe, Anthony McHenry tried to rally Shinshu back. But two more free throws by Keenan continued to push Gunma.
A clutch trey by Yuta Okada went for naught as Keenan sealed the game with another two free throws.
Keenan made a living from the stripe, knocking down 12 of his 14 attempts for 21 points and six rebounds. Parker got 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds while Trey Jones added 15 points.
Both Gunma and Shinshu hold a 9-8 record.
Josh Hawkinson led the way for the skidding Shinshu with 19 points but committed seven turnovers. Okada had 16 points built on three treys, while McHenry added 13 points.
Matthew Aquino played just three minutes in the contest, grabbing two rebounds.
Both squads face off again tomorrow.
