Bucks Invitational

Dallas opens season with win over Florida (12/10/04)

The Mavericks used superior depth to overpower the Florida Force, 90 to 66, to open the 2004-05 NWBA season. Dallas used 9 players all playing between 20 and 34 minutes each to wear down a shorthanded Florida team that had 5 players logging more then 35 minutes each. For the Mavericks, 5 players were in double figures. Jeff Glasbrenner, in his first game as a Maverick, led all scorers with 22 points. He also led all rebounders with 12. Also scoring in double figures for Dallas were; Paul Schulte (17), Stephen Welch (14), Willie Hernandez (13), and Raul Ortega (10).

Dallas started the game with a big line up that featured Jason Van Beek and Rusty Belknap with Glasbrenner in the frontcourt and Schulte and Jermell Pennie at the guards.

Mavs have 5 in double figures in win over Suns (12/11/04)

Stephen Welch led five Mavericks in double figures in a 99 to 69 win over the Phoenix Suns. Welch’s 26 points came mostly in transition and on run-outs as the Suns struggled to account for the Dallas guards. Paul Schulte added 23 points and 8 assists while Raul Ortega tallied 15. Also in double figures for the Mavs were Jeff Glasbrenner (11) and Ryan Hundemer (10).

Superior ball handling was a key difference as the differential in assists (21 to 11) and turnovers (6 to10) both favored the Mavericks. For the game, Dallas shot 55.4 % from the field to Phoenix’s 37.7%.

Ortega leads Mavs over Bucks (12/12/04)

Raul Ortega made 76% (13 for 17) of his shots, including 3 for 3 from three-point range to lead the Mavericks to a 93 –75 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Ortega’s 29 points came on a variety shots, several were in tight quarters around the basket. Dallas had 3 other players in double figures. Jeff Glasbrenner posted a double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds while Stephen Welch and Paul Schulte added 14 and 11 points respectively.

For the third game in a row the Mavericks shot the ball at better than 50% as a team and held opponents to under 40%. Dallas’ defensive intensity and depth have been keys to all three victories this young season. In the Milwaukee game, the Bucks field goal percentage dropped off from 42.5% in the first half to 36.1% in the second half. The difference in three point shooting was even more marked as Milwaukee’s proficiency dropped from 50% in the first half to 14.3% in the second half. Comparatively, the Mavericks shooting percentages were relatively consistent throughout the game. Dallas also held a sizeable advantage in rebounding (53 to 31) for the game.