Sioux Falls Skyforce Delivers Christmas Victory to Sold Out Sanford Pentagon Crowd

All three games between the Iowa Energy and Sioux Falls Skyforce this season so far have been settled by a fourth quarter burst.  On Christmas night, the Skyforce used a 9-0 run to build a 14 point spread to thwart the Energy 112-99 at the Sanford Pentagon.

A sellout crowd of 3,324 witnessed the breakout performance by Larry Drew II of the Skyforce (9-2) who tallied season highs for both points (15) and assists (12).  His ability to set up Justin Hamilton (27 points), A.J. Davis (19 points) and DeAndre Liggins (18 points) keyed the Skyforce attack.  “I feel that getting into the paint is one of my best attributes.  I’m always looking to make my teammates better.  When you get into the middle it creates so many options.”  Hamilton also distinguished himself by grabbing 13 rebounds.  Liggins was close to a triple-double by grabbing 12 caroms of his own and dealing 8 assists plus 3 steals and 2 blocks.

For Iowa (7-4), guard Kalin Lucas was the guiding hand leading to a 21 point, 8 assist night.  Meanwhile guard Othyus Jeffers contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds with former  Skyforce center Jarvis Varnado tallied 12 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocked shots for a total of 61 swats on the season.  Being the top prospect that he is, Varnado should soon land in the NBA.  However if he plays a full 50-game schedule, Varnado could end up in the neighborhood of 270 blocks for the season which would break the NBA Development League single season record by over 100.

Next up for Iowa is a pair of games at home this weekend with the Maine Red Claws.  Sioux Falls will also host two games of their own with the L.A. D-Fenders on Friday and Saturday night.