Dwight Ramos opened the new year on the right note, helping Toyama take a 90-74 stunner against Hiroshima in the 2021-22 B.League season, Sunday at FPCO Arena Fukuyama.
It was a perfect confidence-boosting game for Ramos, who was averaging just 2.6 points on a combined 5-of-26 shooting from the field.
This time around, the 6-foot-4 Filipino-American winger dropped 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field in just 18 minutes of game time.
Ramos, along with Keijuro Matsui and Joshua Smith, powered the Grouses’ huge second quarter that saw them gain a 48-39 lead.
Toyama did not falter in the second half, maintaining a double-digit lead in the final frame.
The Grouses snapped their three-game skid with the win to go up to 9-17 in the standings. Hiroshima, on the other hand, fell to 16-10.
Naoki Uto also had himself a game for Toyama, finishing with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting with seven assists. Bryce Johnson also had 21 points and nine rebounds as Julian Mavunga went scoreless in the game.
Joshua Smith added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Grouses.
Charles Jackson had 19 points and eight rebounds for Hiroshima but was foul-ridden all game long. Naoto Tsuji and Ryo Terashima got 17 and 16 points respectively.
The Grouses were able to hold Nick Mayo down to just 10 points and seven rebounds while forcing him to commit four errors.
Toyama will next face Akita this weekend.
