Scheduling Error

The game between the Savannah Grizzlies and the Atlanta Wildcats scheduled tonight(11-30-12) at 8:00 pm at Savannah High School Gym will not be played. Apparently, the Atlanta Wildcats have scheduled to play a team tonight in Atlanta.

Grizzlies win home opener

The Savannah Grizzlies won their inaugural home game Thursday evening against the Southwest Warriors 151 to 111.
At the end of the first quarter Savannah played good pressure defense, making steals and leading the fast break to take a lead of 30 to 23. At the half the Grizzlies increased their lead to 76 to 51.
Leading scorer at the half for Southwest was Willie Brownlee with 19 points followed by Brandon O'brian with 13.
For Savannah, at the half Trey Kemp had  17 points and Otho Hampton added 13.
At the end of the third quarter, Savannah led 118-84 and the final score was Savannah Grizzlies 151, Southwest Warriors 111.
The keys for the Grizzlies was their tenacious defense which helped to create fast break opportunities. Savannah made a good percentage of their three point shots.
Leading scores for Savannah: Ortho Hamption 28 points, Eric "Magic" Ruffin 23 points, Trey Kemp 23 points, and Maurice Brown with 21 points. 
After the game I spoke with Southwest Warriors Coach Presley who spoke favorably about the Grizzlies saying they "are a great team and they made a high percentage of their shots. They shot better than we did and they played good defense." 
Coach Jessie Fleming spoke about the win after the game. 

Grizzlies Home Opener

Savannah Grizzlies players Austin James, Courtney Beach, and Warren Goosby at Meet and Greet last night at Coach's Corner.

Tonight(Thursday, 11-29-12) the Savannah Grizzlies play their first home game of the season against the Southwest Warriors at 7:30 pm at Savannah High School Gym.

Grizzlies Schedule This Week

The Savannah Grizzlies have a busy schedule this week. Tomorrow (Thursday, 11-29-12) they play the Southwest Warriors starting at 7:30 pm at Savannah High School Gym.
Friday(11-30-12) the Grizzlies host the Atlanta Wildcats starting at 8:00 pm at Savannah High School Gym. According to the ABA Power Rankings, the Atlanta Wildcats are the 11th best team in the rankings.

Sunday the Jacksonville Giants come to Savannah to play the Grizzlies at 5 at  Savannah High School Gym. Jacksonville, who won the ABA National Championship last year, is ranked as the number 1ranked team in the Power Rankings.

Meet and Greet Grizzlies

The ABA Savannah Grizzlies players will be at the Coach's Corner tonight(Wednesday, 11-28-12) at 7:00pm for a meet and greet. Stop by and meet and talk with the Grizzlies players. They have a busy schedule this week, as they play games Thursday at 8, Friday at 8, and Sunday afternoon at 5pm- all the games will be played at the Savannah High School Gym. 

Grizzlies game Sunday cancelled

The Savannah Grizzlies game with the Gainesville  Heat scheduled today(Sunday, 11-25-12) has been cancelled.

Grizzlies Game Cancelled for Saturday

The Savannah Grizzlies game with the East Point Jaguars scheduled for tonight(Saturday 11-24-12) has been postponed and will be re-scheduled.

Grizzlies Play Home Opener

The Savannah Grizzlies play their home opener game Saturday(11-24-12) against the East Point Jaguars at Savannah State Tiger Arena. Game starts at 8:00pm.

Sunday(11-25-12) the Grizzlies return to  Tiger Arena  to play the Gainesville Heat with the game starting at 5:00pm. According to the ABA Power Rankings, the Gainesville Heat is ranked as the 30th best team.

Courtside Cafe

Friday evening I was at the Savannah Grizzlies/Albany Shockwave basketball game held at the Albany Civic Center in Albany, Georgia. For the first time at a game, I saw a Cafe court side. According to www.albanyshockwave.com, "For just $45 per person, you get one of the best seats in the house. Plus, you'll have access to free food and limited drink vouchers from the time the door open through the end of halftime." You will have to check it out when you attend a game at the Civic Center in Albany, Georgia.

Grizzlies Owner Dr. Fred Heath

Savannah Grizzlies Owner, Dr. Fred Heath, talks about the game after the loss to the Albany Shockwave Friday evening.

Albany Shockwave 131 Savannah Grizzlies 85

The Savannah Grizzlies played their first game of the ABA season Friday evening against the Albany Shockwave in Albany, Georgia. Darrell Williams scored 63 points to lead Albany to a 131-85 victory over Savannah.
At the end of the first quarter, Albany held a 29-16 lead. In the second quarter, Savannah got within 6 points, but Albany pulled away and led at the half, 60-43. At the half, Darrell Williams had 32 points for Albany  and Sam Osborne led Savannah with 10 points.
At the end of the third quarter, the Shockwave led 99-66. Final score Albany 131Savannah 85.
Darrell Williams was outstanding for Albany scoring 63 points for the game. The 6'-7" 180 pound, SG, SF, PF,  hit numerous 3 point shots from the corner and had numerous fast break buckets for his team. Williams made 21 field goals and was perfect from the free throw line with 11. Williams ,who did not attend college, led his team in rebounding with 15.
Leading Savannah in scoring was Otho Hampton with 17 points. Sam Osborne added 14, Joe Mincey 11, Maurice Brown 11, and Courtney Beach scored 10.
After the game I talked with Coach Al Smith of the Shockwave, and he said: "we can play better defense and need to work on staying in front of our man on defense and not reach with our arms committing fouls." He was pleased with the offense. 
The venue at the Albany Civic Center was excellent and reminded several of us of the Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. An interesting facet of the Center was their court side cafe
where fans could eat and had a great view to watch the game.

Grizzlies play first game on the Road

The Savannah Grizzlies play their first game of the ABA season on the road traveling to Albany, Georgia to play the Albany Shockwave Friday(November 16, 2012) . The game is being played at the Albany Civic Center with tip off at 7:30 pm. Fans can catch the game on live stream Friday evening by going to Facebook.

Savannah Grizzlies Head Coach Jessie Fleming

Savannah Grizzlies Head Basketball Coach Jessie Fleming talks about loss to the Florida Makos Saturday afternoon.

Florida Makos 102 Savannah Grizzlies 90

The Savannah Grizzlies played the Florida Makos Saturday afternoon at the Johnson High School Gym in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah led after the first two quarters, but the Makos rallied and won the game 102-90.
The Grizzlies played well the first quarter, and led at the end of the period, 29-18. At half time it was Savannah with the lead, 51-49. The leading scorer for the Makos at the half was Brandon Russ with 17 points. Maurice Brown scored 17 points and Sam Osborne scored 16 points for Savannah.
After three quarters it was Florida Makos leading 80-71. Final score Florida 102, Savannah 90.
Leading scorer for the game for the Makos was Russ with 30 points. Eddie Brown added 18 points.
Brown scored 32 points for the Grizzlies for the game and Osborne added 20 points. 
After the game, Grizzlies Head Basketball Coach Jessie Fleming, talked about the game, saying the team did not shoot well and the next week the team will work on their defense(you can see Coach Fleming talk about the game on Facebook).

Grizzlies Exhibition Game

The ABA Savannah Grizzlies General Manager, Lon Forbes, announced the Grizzlies will play an exhibition game against the ABA Florida Makos tomorrow(Saturday, November 10, 2012). The game is being played at the Johnson High School Gym, 3012 Sunset Blvd. Savannah, Georgia with the game starting at 1:00pm. The cost of the game is $5.00 which you can get your ticket at the gate. Fans come out to the game and watch exciting ABA Professional Basketball.