How your Los Angeles Lightning came up short in its IBL title defense

News doesn't travel slowly from Portland. We just took too much time to pass this on:

The Los Angeles Lightning got 25 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks from center Chris Ayer, but couldn't overcome 21 turnovers in a 112-94 loss Friday to the Bellingham Slam, eliminating the defending champs from the International Basketball League playoffs in the semifinals of the American Bracket.

Playing at Warner Pacific College in Portland, the third-seeded Lightning finished the season 14-6 after a 13-2 start.

The Lightning made just 41.5 percent of their shots, including 15.4 percent from 3-point country (4 of 26).

"When you get to the playoffs and you come out and don't have a good shooting night, you're going to lose," said L.A. coach Ron Quarterman. "We couldn't sustain a run, except for that one in the second quarter."

"We had a lot of defensive breakdowns and we sputtered on offense," said Ayer, a 6-11 center from Loyola Marymount. "This was our lowest output of the season. We had a lot of little mistakes that added up and hurt us really big."

Former UCLA standout Billy Knight added 23 points and six rebounds for L.A. while Tyus Edney had nine points, six rebounds and 13 assists.

Fred Vinson, the Lightning's top 3-point shooter at 42.6 percent, made only 4-19 from the field and 3-13 from long range. He arrived on a plane flight from L.A. just two hours before the game.

"I'm not a big excuse guy," said Vinson. "I didn't make shots I normally make. It's been a long week for me. Flying in today made it a little tougher but there's no excuses."

Trayvon Lathan, the third-leading scorer in the IBL at 27.5 per game, had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. Juaquin Hawkins contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals for the Lightning, who were outshot 48 to 37.5 percent in the second half.

"I'm disappointed but I understand why we lost, how we lost," said Quarterman. "Next year, we have to come back and be in a better position to finish it out."

== More on the Lightning (linked here)