Vincent Boumann lays the ball up for the Capitals past two Sea-Kings defenders in Game 1 of the second round playoff matchup on Wednesday, June 8, at Salem Armory Auditorium. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes)
The inaugural season for the Salem Capitals has come to a close.
In the second round of the TBL playoffs, the Capitals fell to the California Sea-Kings two games to one in the best-of-three series.
Overall the series was tight, the Sea-Kings outscored the Capitals in the three games by only five points total, 328-323.
Each team came away with a 20+ point victory in Games 1 and 2. In the deciding Game 3, the Sea-Kings edged out the Capitals in a 113-110 game.
In Game 1 in Salem, the Capitals held the high scoring Sea-Kings offense in check.
The Sea-Kings have a pair of scorers in the top-six of the TBL scoring average. Greg Foster averages 27.6 while Nigel Jones puts in 25.7. Both Foster and Jones hit their season marks, scoring 28 and 26 respectively, but the rest of the Sea-Kings struggled from the floor.
“Our plan wasn’t to stop Greg,” Capitals’ head coach Brian Stevens said. “We played him one-on-one and we didn’t bring help. We wanted him to shoot a lot and get his 30 or 40 points on that many shots. We tried slowing down the other guys.”
Jaylon Smith struggled from 3, going 0 for 6 from beyond the arc and just 3 for 13 overall.
Despite being at around his average, Foster seemed to struggle in the flow of the offense for the Sea-Kings in their half-court sets.
For much of the game, the Capitals’ Jahlin Smith was matched up with Foster defensively. Smith’s length and athleticism kept Foster at bay for much of the game as Smith looked to “Kill the head of the snake,” he said.
Offensively, it was the No. 10 scorer in the TBL Vincent Boumann putting in work. Boumann had 46 points for the Capitals, going 20 for 30 from the floor and grabbing 13 rebounds. It was his highest scoring game of the season, and his second 40+ point game.
“I was just trying to get one more home game, our fans deserve it,” Boumann said.
Unfortunately for Boumann and the Capitals, the Sea-Kings had other plans once the series moved down to California.
As Boumann’s scoring dipped in Games 2 and 3, Foster and Jones’ spiked.
In Game 2, a 126-104 win for the Sea-Kings, Foster and Jones had 39 and 36 while Boumann was held to 22.
In Game 3, Boumann was held to just nine points on 3 for 8 shooting.
Meanwhile, Foster had 34 points, and Jaylon Smith’s shot finally started to drop for the Sea-Kings as he put in 28.
Even with Boumann struggling, the Capitals went into halftime up 53-43.
The Sea-Kings used a 28-15 run during the third quarter to take the lead. The Capital’s were able to tie the game up a few times, but were never able to take it back.
Foster finished the series with 101 points on 58% shooting.
Capitals fans walk around the court at the Salem Armory Auditorium after Game 1 of the Capitals’ second round playoff matchup with the California Sea-Kings on Wednesday, June 8. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes)
Jahlin Smith blocks a shot against the Sea-Kings on Wednesday, June 8, in Game 1 of the second round of the TBL playoffs at the Salem Armory Auditorium. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes)