The Arsenal finally managed to defeat the Utah Flash tonight, 99-91. While the Arsenal couldn’t stop James Lang (who scored 23 points, mostly down low), he drew his fourth and fifth fouls early in the fourth quarter, and sat down with about 8 minutes to go. (He later returned and fouled out.) The Arsenal stayed out of foul trouble (unlike Monday), shot a decent 48% from the field, and did not yield any big runs to the Flash.
Unfortunately, during the game, Bryson McKenzie was injured on a drive to the basket. Since the game recap is not available as of this writing, I can but speculate that it was either a hyperextended knee or a ligament tear in the knee. There was no contact on the play if I recall correctly — he was leading a break off of a turnover, and, after a few steps, all of a sudden fell backwards clutching his knee as his momentum kept carrying him forward. He was taken off of the court on a stretcher, which is never a good sign.
Right now the Arsenal really lack a defensive presence in the post — Marcin Gortat is back in the Association, and McKenzie was the tallest player left on the roster at 6’10”. I don’t think it will hurt them much in their upcoming game against the Bakersfield Jam, but I think it’s going to be an issue for the rest of the season unless they can pick up another big man.