Texas Takes First Ever Playoff Win In Birmingham

The Texas Legends (20-15) won their first playoff game in franchise history against the Birmingham Squadron (18-15) 115-100 Tuesday night in Birmingham.

Birmingham controlled the first, but Texas stayed within eight, tying it up twice before the buzzer called it at 26-20.  Texas heated up midway through the second and the two exchanged leads six times before the half.

The Squadron grabbed the first basket of the third to increase the lead to three and would ultimately go up by as many as eight again near the midway point.  Texas went on a 12-0 run at the five-minute mark to take their largest lead of the first three, but Justin Wright-Foreman had the final say giving the home team a 75-73 edge going into the final.  James Banks III opened the fourth with a tying layup then added two more to put Texas ahead, setting the tone for the final minutes.  With just under four minutes to play, Texas forged a double-digit deficit and used back-to-back threes from Isaiah Brown to take it beyond reach.

Justin Jackson led the Legends with 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Carlik Jones neared a triple-double with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists.  Moses Wright tagged on 17 points, 14 rebounds, and Brown finished with a career-high 19 points, knocking down 5-of-10 outside.  Banks rounded out the double-digit scores coming off the bench for 14 points, 6 rebounds.

Jared Harper put up 28 points for Birmingham while Zylan Cheatham and Zach Hankins added 16 and 13 respectively and each grabbed 12 boards.

Texas will play round two of the playoffs in Rio Grande Valley.  For game schedule and broadcast information visit www.TexLegends.com.