Mo Ke had a game-high 27 points and 9 rebounds to lift Bayi Rockets to a home win over Shanghai Sharks, 92-81 yesterday in the 5th round of the CBA season. Bayi stands atop the Southern Conference after won four of its last five games.
Li Nan scored 19 points for Bayi and point guard Wang Zhongguang added 17. Liu Wei had 26 points and 8 assists and Reggie Okosa had a double-double with 26 points and 24 rebounds for the Sharks, who have lost 3 of their last 5 games.
Shooting guard Li Nan and center Mo Ke were on the bench after tip-off. Zhang Jinsong led four Bayi youngsters to take on the Sharks. Chen Ke made 3-of-4 3-pointers in the first quarter as Bayi carried a 26-21 advantage into the second quarter.
Zhang Wenqi drained a 3-pointer to even the game at 26-26 in the early second period. But Wang Zhongguang and Li Nan's shootings gave Bayi a 7-0 run that ended the first half at 51-38.
In the third quarter, Bayi's head coach A Dijiang sent veteran Li Nan, Zhang Jinsong and Mo Ke on court to fend off Shanghai's Liu Wei and Reggie Okosa. Sharks trailed by 11 points at 71-60 after the third period and failed to turn the tables in the last quarter.
Commenting on the 81 points, the lowest scoring for Shanghai Sharks this season, head coach Li Qiuping said it was due to the tough defense of Bayi.
Bayi guard Wang Zhongguang said after the game: "I am inferior to Liu Wei in experience and speed, after all he is the starting point guard of the national team. But I'm younger and I hope I can surpass him in the near future. " Wang were 7-of-11 from the field and had 7 boards with 1 assist and 3 steals.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, November 30, 2005)
