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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, July 2, 2009 Explosion advance with win Snohmish County topples the Vancouver, B.C., Titans 124-111 in the opening round of the playoffs. By Aaron Lommers Herald Writer MONROE -- There's nothing like homecourt advantage. The Snohomish County Explosion made the most of having the International Basketball League playoffs in Monroe on their home floor, dispatching Vancouver, B.C., Titans 124-111 in Wednesday night's opening round . Continuing to exploit their home edge might prove to be a more difficult task. The Explosion now faces top-seeded Edmonton Energy -- which beat Snohomish County twice in Canada in the regular season. The two meet tonight at 7:15 in the second round. "The way I look at it is this: We aren't in Canada. The only way they beat us, was we were in Canada," Explosion player/coach Chris Weakley said. On Wednesday, Snohomish County struggled, shooting just 1-for-17 from 3-point range in the half, and Vancouver held a two-point lead at the break. The second half was be a different story, thanks in large part to Jason Hicks. Hicks made six consecutive 3s at one point and the Explosion used a 24-7 run to build a 102-91 lead. "It feels really good," said Hicks, who finished the game with 26 points. "I just wanted to come in and play my game. I hit one (3-pointer) and I thought to just keep shooting. I had good looks. Teammates got me open." During their second-half run, the Explosion also got a lift from Chris Ferguson, who hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter. "The play wasn't even designed for me. It was a slip," Ferguson said. "Once the ball touched my fingertips, I knew it was going in. I was just preparing my victory celebration so I just screamed." "That was a dagger," added Ferguson, who finished with eight points. Perhaps the biggest lift came from Richard Ford, who, after leaving for another professional opportunity, rejoined the Explosion for the playoffs. Ford led the Explosion with 30 points and 19 rebounds. "I just found out the franchise hasn't been past the first round, so it feels pretty good to be a part of that," Ford said. "I told Nathan (Mumm, Explosion owner) that in order for us to be successful in the playoffs we needed Richard," associate head coach Quantez Gurley said. IBL leading scorer Devon Greene chipped in 17 points for the Explosion. Ike Ohanson had 25 points and 13 rebounds. The Titans were led by James Hudson, who finished with 27. The Energy, Snohomish County's second round opponent, finished the regular season 17-3. Weakley said, "I honestly feel who wins the game with us and Edmonton will win the whole thing." Weakley said he felt privileged to lead the team to the team's first playoff victory in franchise history, but also gave much of the credit to Gurley, his assistant. "If he's not here to help me we're not going to get it done. With 'Q" over there it helps out so much," Weakley said. "It's been a pleasure being the coach, if not for coach Q we might have been one and done." Wednesday's other game Tacoma Tide 117, Central Oregon Hotshots 98 Justin Murray scored 25 points to lead the Tide into today's second round of the playoffs, where they face defending champion Bellingham. Central Oregon was led by Travis Noble's 19 points. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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