Kiefer Ravena continued his hot streak for Shiga, lifting the Lakes to a crucial 102-95 win over Yokohama to stay clear from relegation in the 2022-23 B.League season, Saturday at Shiga Daihatsu Arena.
Kiefer tallied 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists helping Shiga rack up win no. 10 to rise to 22nd in the 24-team league.
Crucial is this victory as the Lakes are now two games ahead of Toyama and three games ahead of Niigata. The bottom two teams in the league will figure in the promotion/relegation matches.
It is also a big win for Shiga as the B Corsairs are the second-ranked team in the central district. They fell to 28-18.
Meanwhile, Kai Sotto continued his stellar showing for Hiroshima, towing his side to a 92-76 win over Matthew Wright and Kyoto at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall.
Sotto finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks as the Dragonflies rose to 34-12 — third in the west.
Wright struggled for the Hannaryz, who fell to 16-30, finishing with just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.
Kiefer’s brother Thirdy got five points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block in San-En’s 79-73 win over Toyama at Toyohashi City Gymnasium.
The NeoPhoenix went up to 19-27 — still fifth in the west.
Dwight Ramos was limited to just four points and three rebounds by Niigata, who took a 79-73 win over Hokkaido at City Hall Plaza Ao-re Nagaoka.
Levanga fell to 13-33 — just three games ahead of Shiga.
Finally, Carl Tamayo only played two minutes in Ryukyu’s 85-89 loss to Chiba at Chiba Port Arena.
The Jets went up to 41-5 while the Golden Kings fell to 36-10.
Over at Division II, Jordan Heading fired four treys for 20 points, towing Nagasaki to a 91-75 win over Saga at SAGA Plaza General Gymnasium.
The Velca chopped the Ballooners’ lead in the west to just two games with the win.
Greg Slaughter’s 13-point, seven-rebound outing, meanwhile, went to waste as Fukuoka fell to Kagawa, 67-75, at Teriha Sekisui House Arena.
The Rising Zephyr fell to 16-37 — just a game ahead of the Five Arrows.
Roosevelt Adams sat out the game due to injury.