Wonju DB is on a scary early-season roll.
Led by head coach Kim Joo-sung, the DB won 91-84 against Suwon KT in the regular season of the 2023-2024 Jeonggwanjang Professional Basketball League at the Suwon KT Sonic Boom Arena at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30. The team has won four straight games since the start of the season to take sole possession of the lead.
Once again, foreign player Dedrick Lawson shined. Lawson scored a game-high 35 points to lead DB to victory. He also added eight rebounds and four assists. Lee Sun Albano also played the role of field commander with 19 points and six assists. 토토 Captain Kang Sang-jae also chipped in with 10 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
DB, with Albano, Choi Seung-wook, Park In-woong, Kang Sang-jae, and Lawson in the starting lineup, struggled with KT’s outside shooting early on. However, Lawson’s buzzer-beating three-pointer ended the first quarter with a one-point deficit, 27-28. After Lawson’s free throws at the beginning of the second quarter, DB took the lead for good, and then Lawson and Kang Sang-jae scored to extend the lead. At the end of the second quarter, a three-pointer by Choi Seung-wook and a basket by Shin Min-soo ended the first half with a 54-48 lead.
In the third quarter, DB used strong defense to hold KT to just 13 points in the quarter and scored 25 points in between to take a 79-61, 18-point lead into the fourth quarter. But KT, one of the favorites to win the title, would not go down without a fight. After holding DB scoreless for the first 3:36 of the fourth quarter, Ha Yoon-ki and Paris Bass scored back-to-back baskets to pull within one point, 82-83, with 7:43 left in the quarter. Facing an upset, DB got a break with a free throw and a two-pointer from Lawson, and with 42 seconds left in regulation, Lawson hit the game-winning three-pointer.
Along with Lawson’s dominance in clutch time, the rebuilt ‘DB Acid’ also proved to be a force to be reckoned with. With a total of six blocked shots, including three by Kim Jong-kyu, DB showed the fear of DB Acid to KT, who only managed one.
With the win, DB, which went undefeated in four games, maintained its sole lead atop the standings with a one-game lead over the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis. DB will look to extend their opening five-game winning streak against Daegu KOGAS on March 3.