Thirdy Ravena and San-En could not complete an upset against Shibuya, collapsing late to take a 64-70 loss, Saturday at Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall.
Starting strong with a 39-23 halftime lead, Josh Harrelson came alive in the third quarter scoring 10 of the Sun Rockers’ 24 points while helping limit the NeoPhoenix to just 10 points to cut San-En’s lead down to two entering the final frame.
It was a nip-and-tuck final frame that had Shibuya clinging to a 66-64 lead with 1:09 left.
Ravena had a chance to take the go-ahead but his triple missed with 46 ticks remaining. On the other side, the 6-foot-9 James McAdoo scored over Ravena to put his side up 68-64.
A miss from deep by Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki and two clutch free throws by Leo Vendrade sealed the deal for the now-7-3 Shibuya.
McAdoo had another monster game for the Sun Rockers, tallying 31 points on 14-of-18 shooting with 13 rebounds and five steals.
Harrelson added 13 points and 11 rebounds as Shibuya took advantage of Elias Harris’ absence for San-En.
San-En, who dropped to 3-7 in the west, was led by the 18 points and seven rebounds of Justin Knox.
Robert Carter added 14 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Meanwhile, Ravena went just 2-of-8 from the field for four points.
The two squads meet again tomorrow at 2:05 PM.
