Kiefer Ravena is one win away from marking his first B.League playoff run with the Shiga Lakes with a championship.
Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakes are one win away from the B.League’s B2 championship.
Shiga opened the best-of-three Finals against the Koshigaya Alphas with a 96-87 overtime victory Saturday, closing in on a fairy-tale ending to the team’s B1 return.
The Lakes dominated OT, opening with three straight baskets to create separation. Up five inside the final minute, Kiefer helped put the finishing touches to the win, hitting a driving layup with 39 seconds to go to make it 93-86 Shiga.
Ravena added three more free throws after that to seal the deal.
Despite missing the game-winner in regulation, Kiefer’s clutch work actually helped set up Shiga’s Game 1 win.
Down two, Ravena hit a layup to make it 77-all with two minutes to go. Kiefer then put the Lakes up two with a pair of perfect free throws with 35 seconds remaining.
Despite a relatively slow start by his playoff standards, Ravena managed 16 points for Shiga, 12 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Brock Motum led the Lakes with 37 big points, while Ryan Kriener added 19 points.
For the Alphas, who upset the 56-4 Altiri Chiba in the semifinals, Justin Harper and LJ Peak led the charge with 28 and 25 points respectively.