ALBANY – In his postseason debut with the Albany Patroons, forward Arsenio Arrington did his part to add to the franchise’s legacy.
He had 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting as the Patroons overwhelmed the Reading Rebels 111-96 on Tuesday in a The Basketball League opening-round game at Washington Avenue Armory.
Arrington signed with the franchise less than three weeks ago after being granted his release from the Kalamazoo Galaxy, who didn’t qualify for the TBL playoffs.
“It’s an honor,” Arrington said. “I’ve been telling people since the day I got here, just coming here as you see all these great NBA players and coaches and championships back here, I’m hearing they just won a (TBL) championship in 2019 and were in the finals last year. It’s just a blessing for me to come here and have this opportunity.”
Arrington spoke as he stood in front of a row of signs with names of former Patroons greats such as Micheal Richardson, Vince Askew, and Mario Elie, Hall of Fame coaches Phil Jackson and George Karl, and the team’s 1984, 1988 and 2019 title trophies behind one basket at the Armory.
This year’s Patroons (21-4) move on to the TBL’s Northeast Division finals, where they’ll face the Atlantic City Gambits in a best-of-3 series. Game 1 is at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Armory, followed by Game 2 on Saturday and Game 3 on Sunday, if necessary, at Atlantic City.
The Gambits (22-3), who beat Syracuse in another opening-round game on Tuesday, won the Northeast Division regular-season title and have homecourt advantage.
On Saturday, the Patroons built a 51-36 halftime lead and 78-59 advantage after three quarters against a Reading team that entered the evening scoring 113 points per game with seven players averaging in double figures.
“We were just active,” said Patroons guard Trevis Wyche, who added…
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