The Erie BayHawks are now 0-6 against the Maine Red Claws after losing to the D-League expansion team, 102-95, Sunday evening.

By losing to Maine (22-14), Erie (13-24) will not be able to match last seasons’ record when it finished 27-23 as an expansion team.

When Erie and Reno entered the league last season, they picked from a pool of players the other teams didn’t want in the expansion draft. When Maine and Springfield joined the league this season, they picked players from defunct  Colorado and Anaheim.

Now the 14ers won the 2009 D-League title, but the Arsenal were awful last season. So how is Maine so good and Springfield has the D-League’s worst record at 5-26 when they picked from the same teams?

One thing is certain. The Red Claws are playoff bound and Erie needs a miracle to make a second consecutive playoff appearance.

The Erie BayHawks blew a 16-point halftime lead, but beat the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 109-107, Saturday as they head into their home opener Saturday, Dec. 12, against the expansion Maine Red Claws at Tullio Arena with a 2-2 record.

Leemire Goldwire had a chance to win the game for the Skyforce (2-2), but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Erie center John Bryant missed a pair of free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining in overtime.

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The D-League season isn’t even a week old and the Maine Red Claws are getting better by the minute.

Not only has their NBA affiliates – Boston and Charlotte – sent down a player to them in forward Bill Walker (Celtics) and 7-foot center Alexis Ajinca (Bobcats), but the Mad Claws also added 6-9 forward Trey Gilder, who was waived by the Memphis Grizzles last month after helping Colorado win the 2009 D-League title.

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If Springfield is able to keep Marcus Campbell, it will have a true enforcer in the paint.

The D-League had its expansion draft for Springfield and Maine today.

Springfield used the first pick to tab 7-footer Marcus Campbell while Maine took athletic swing man James White, who finished the 2008-09 season in the NBA with the Houston Rockets.

Unlike a year ago when Erie and Reno picked unprotected players from the remaining D-League teams, Springfield and Maine picked guys from 2009 D-League champion Colorado and Anaheim, two teams that are now defunct.

Hmmm.

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Although he was on a bad team in Anaheim, James White was a 2008-09 D-League All-Star.

The NBA D-League will have its expansion draft Sept. 2 to fill rosters for the two expansion teams – Maine Red Claws and Springfield (Mass.) Armor.

They’re going to pick teams from a “Returning Player Lists” of the two now defunct teams – Colorado 14ers and Anaheim Arsenal.

I tell you what, Maine and Springfield have some good players to choose from.

Very good.

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Rookie Sonny Weems scored a game-high 25 points in leading Colorado to a D-League title after the 14ers won Game 2 against Utah on Friday night.

They run and gun. Press and never rest.

And now Colorado is the D-League’s best.

After finishing the regular season with the league’s best record, the 14ers are the D-League champions after winning Game 2 of the D-League Finals, 123-104, Friday night at the Broomfield Event Center.

In Friday’s win, the 14ers (38-16) had three players score at least 21 points with Denver Nuggets rookie Sonny Weems scoring a game-high 25 points. Josh Davis and Joe Dabbert each added 21 points.

the 14ers were up by only a point, 90-89, early in the fourth quarter before going on a 16-2 run to take a 106-91 lead with seven minutes and 44 seconds left in the game.

Morris Almond of the Utah Jazz lead the Flash (34-20) with 18 points. After winning the regular-season series, 2-0, the Flash were swept in the best-of-3 finals.

The Colorado 14ers are a victory away from winning the 2009 D-League Finals after winning at Utah in overtime, 136-131, Wednesday night.

Wow.

After coaching his team to the league's best record, Bob MacKinnon has the Colorado 14ers one victory away from winning the 2009 D-League Finals.

Some serious points were scored in this one.

The top-seeded 14ers (37-16) finished overtime on an 8-2 run to win Game 1. Guard Dominique Coleman scored four of those eight points. His bucket put Colorado ahead for good, 132-131, with 55 seconds left. Coleman had 10 for the game.

The 14ers will now have the opportunity to win the best-of-3 series in Friday’s Game 2 at home. If necessary, Game 3 will be played Monday at  Colorado.

Colorado lead by as many as 24 points in the first half, but the second-seeded Flash (34-19) came back and led 122-121 after a Robert Dupree dunk with a minute and 10 seconds left in the game. Dupree scored a game-high 37 points.

Colorado rookie Trey Gilder tied the game, but missed the second free throw that would have given the 14ers the lead with 22 seconds left. Utah guard Kevin Kruger failed to win the game at the buzzer as he missed a jump shot.

Denver Nuggets rookie Sonny Weems lead the 14ers with 28 points while Billy Thomas and Josh Davis added 27 and 25 points, respectively.

The 14ers began their playoff run by beating the Erie BayHawks in the opening round.

The Utah Flash advanced to the D-League Finals by beating the sixth-seeded Dakota Wizards, 103-93, Monday night in Orem, Utah.

Coach Brad Jones has Utah in the D-League Finals after the Flash beat Dakota, 103-93, Monday night.

The second-seeded Flash (34-18) will face top-seeded Colorado (38-14) in a best-of-3 series. Game 1 is in Utah on Wednesday. Game 2 will be Friday in Colorado as would Game 3 if needed on Monday, April 27.

Colorado won the regular-season series, 2-0.

Big shout out to Utah coach Brad Jones. When I worked in Jackson, Tenn., I used to cover area college basketball and Jones was a head coach of the Lambuth men’s basketball team. Lambuth is an NAIA school.

In Monday’s win, the Flash shot 51.7 percent from the field. Boston Celtics rookie forward J.R. Giddens scored a game-high 25 points.

The Celtics are one of Utah’s two NBA affiliates with the Utah Jazz being the other. The Flash had six players score in double figures with Morris Almond of the Utah Jazz being one of them. He finished with 18 points in 28 minutes.

Blake Ahearn lead the Wizards (28-24) with 22 points.

Denver Nuggets rookie guard Sonny Weems scored a team-high 27 points to lead the Colorado 14ers to a come-from-behind 114-111 win Saturday night.

The Colorado 14ers advanced to the D-League finals by beating the Austin Toros, 114-111, Saturday night at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colo.

The 14ers (36-16) trailed the Toros (33-19) by 11 points, 98-87, with nine minutes and 11 seconds left. This came after Colorado coach Bob MacKinnon was called for a technical foul.

From that point, the 14ers went on a 20-7 run to take a 107-105 lead with four minutes and 46 seconds left in the game.

Down three with 10 seconds left, Marcus Williams and Stanley Burrell each missed 3-pointers that would have tied the game.

Denver Nuggets rookie Sonny Weems lead the 14ers with 27 points while Eddie Gill added 23. Malik Hairston and Williams paced the Toros with 37 and 33 points, respectively. Both players played the entire game.

The 14ers will face the winner of Monday’s Utah-Dakota game in the D-League finals, which is  best-of-3 series.

David Bell made 10 3-pointers in leading Dakota to an upset win at Iowa on Thursday night.

(7) Dakota 114, (3) Iowa 109: David Bell made 10 shots from 3-point range to help the Wizards (28-23) stun their Central Division rivals in Thursday’s first-round game at Iowa (28-23). Bell went 10-of-13 from 3-point en route to scoring 34 points off the bench. Iowa shot just 3-of-14 from 3-point range in defeat. D-League rookie of the year Othyus Jeffers scored a team-high 31 points for the Energy.

Dakota will now take on second-seeded Utah (33-18) in the D-League semifinals. The Flash beat the Bakersfield Jam, 94-81, in the first round Wednesday.

Top-seeded Colorado (35-16) will play fourth-seeded Austin (33-18) in the other semifinal game Saturday at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colo.