Shinshu continues its tear in the 97th Emperor’s Cup, romping Mikawa, 78-69, Wednesday at Wing Arena in Kariya, Aichi.
The win punched the Brave Warriors’ ticket to the quarterfinals of the All-Japan Tournament. They will face Ryukyu, who defeated Akita earlier in the day 101-69, on January 5.
A strong opening frame that saw Ko Kumagai and Anthony McHenry gain the hot hand early paved the way for a 23-11 start.
Fil-Japanese Matthew Aquino only played a minute and 42 seconds in the second frame.
The Seahorses still rallied from a lead that went to as high as 17 points in the third canto – cutting the lead down to just three multiple times in the final frame. But Josh Hawkinson scored eight of the last 18 Shinshu points to put Mikawa away for good.
Hawkinson had a monster game for Shinshu, tallying 31 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Reo Maeda added 17 points built on three triples while Kumagai added 16 markers.
On the other hand, Ryogo Sumino paced Mikawa with 17 points. Yudai Nishida and Davante Garner got 14 points each.
Shinshu returns to the B.League this weekend to face Utsonomiya at White Ring.
