The Shiga Lakestars swept their weekend matches against Kyoto even with a toned-down version of Kiefer Ravena in the 2021-22 Japan B.League on Sunday.
Ravena struck with only six points for the Lakestars, when they turned back the Kyoto Hannaryz, 95-72, over in Kyoto on Sunday.
But Ravena’s two freebies came in handy during a pivotal 8-0 run, which shattered a 48-all deadlock as it moved the Lakestars out of trouble, 56-48, with 5:08 left in the third.
Sean Omara went on to finish with a game-high 22 points for the Lakestars, who improved to 5-1 in the West District standings.
The Lakestars now share the lead with the Bobby Ray Parks-led Hirsohima Dragonfly and the Shimano Susanoo Magic.
On Saturday, Shiga escaped Kyoto with an 84-83 win, with Hannaryz import and former NorthPort guest player Justin Harper getting stopped by Ovie Soko at the buzzer.
This made up for two missed freebies from Ravena in the last 11 seconds.
The former NLEX player scored 6 points, hauled one board and earned two steals in that Saturday win by the Lakestars.
Novar Gadson’s big layup gave Shiga an 84-81 lead with 20 ticks to go.
The Lakestars got a scare when Harper connected with two free throws with 13.5 ticks left as Kyoto Hannaryz came to within one, with Ravena failing to pad their lead with two missed freebies en the ensuing play.
Good thing Soko preserved the win by stopping Harper from scoring at the buzzer.