The story of the game was obvious, if you go for cheap one-liners: The Volcanoes were so hot they set off the fire alarm.
Because they were, and they did. Well, something made the fire alarm go off late in the first half of the Vancouver Volcanoes’ 135-110 International Basketball League victory Friday over the Yamhill HighFlyers at Clark College.
The O’Connell Center was evacuated for several minutes, sending the players and roughly 1,000 fans to mingle outside. After they returned, Vancouver spent the rest of the night turning what had been a close game into a rout.
Andre Murray finished with 29 points and 11 assists, and Prairie High graduate Devin Uskoski added 26 points and 15 rebounds as the Volcanoes (3-3) won their home opener.
“I think this was one of the best games we’ve had here as far as the production — except for the fire alarm,” said coach and co-owner Bryan Hunter. “We had the mayor here; the crowd was great.”
After eking out a 32-30 lead behind Murray’s 13 first-quarter points, the Volcanoes started to pull away.
“We wanted to use the fact we had a deeper bench,” said forward Alex Hartman, who finished with 15 points. “We just played team ball. We didn’t think they could run with us all game long.”
After holding a 65-55 halftime lead, Vancouver slowly turned the second half into a festival of layups and dunks. The Volcanoes shot 51 percent from the field for the game, while holding Yamhill to 44 percent. They also attempted 44 free throws to 22 for the HighFlyers.
“I don’t feel like we started playing our game until late in the game,” Hunter said. “We had a hard time figuring out that team and their offense.”
Part of the reason for that was Yamhill’s Cheyenne Moore, a 6-foot-6 guard out of George Washington University. Moore finished with 25 points and was 10 of 19 from the field. Curtis Nash led the HighFlyers, who are based in McMinnville, Ore., with 29 points, including five 3-pointers.
Hartman said: “We’re getting some kinks out. We’re just working on personnel.”
One big personnel addition has been Murray at point guard. The former Portland State standout is averaging 29.2 points a game and shooting 66 percent from the field.
“He could get to the rim whenever he wanted,” Hunter said. “Andre makes very good decisions on the court.”
For Murray, who recently returned from playing in Germany, it was his first game in front of the Vancouver crowd.
“It’s a great experience, a great atmosphere,” he said. “Everybody is easy to get along with; there’s no down talk.
“The difference tonight was energy. We came out and jumped on them.”
Yes, the Volcanoes erupted. If you go for cheap one-liners.
