The Utah Flash kept a comfortable lead in the second half and pulled out a victory over the Anaheim Arsenal Monday night 108-92. Andre Ingram led the team with 33 points but only with a little help from the inside players.
"There was one other game when I was in college, but other than that I don’t remember a time when I shot so well," said Ingram, who made 6-of-7 3-pointers.
Between Flash forward Britton Johnsen, center Kyrylo Fesenko and center James Lang the big guys made up about half of the team’s total points. The Flash started rocky with several missed jump shots and not a whole lot of action from Johnsen. But, when Lang entered the game the domination began.
"He did terrific," Flash coach Brad Jones said, "We have talked a lot about consistency and for a guy like himself there is no reason why he can’t give us 20 and 10 every night."
The 285-pound center had the softest touch against Anaheim. The only time he missed was when he was fouled, and he hit both of his free throws. Although Arsenal forwards Kendrick Brown and Steven Smith combined for a total of 46 points, their defensive double team against Lang and full court pressure didn’t slow the Flash down.
"That’s the great thing about this team," said Ingram, "The guys were genuinely happy to see one of their teammates do well – a lot of teams aren’t like that."
Johnsen came out strong in the second half with three shots in the paint in the first six minutes of the third quarter, and set a steady lead for the rest of the game. Anaheim didn’t show any signs of weakening even after they trailed by 20 late in the fourth quarter.
Arsenal forward Kendrick Brown nailed seven shots in the paint. Perhaps the turning point was when Arsenal was hit with six technical fouls, all in the second half. Even frustrated head coach Reggie Geary had two of them himself before being tossed with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Utah Flash will host the Anaheim Arsenal again Feb. 8 at the McKay Events Center.
