The Potawatomi Fire started their quest for a fourth consecutive TBL title with a bang on last Thursday night, beating the ADS Sentinels 137-103.

“I thought we played pretty well,” said Fire head coach, and three-time TBL Coach of the Year, Mark Dannhoff. “The Sentinels are good team and are only going to get better. It took all of us to get the win tonight. It certainly wasn’t perfect, and we will work on those areas that weren’t great, but to get a win tonight was nice.”

The Fire started off hot, scoring the first seven points of the game forcing a Sentinels timeout. Following the timeout, the Sentinels went on a 14-2 run in the middle of the first quarter to take a lead. The Sentinels were able to stretch their first quarter lead to six (18-12) before the Fire answered with a 21-6 run in the final 6:04 of the first quarter to take a seven point lead (33-26) going into the second.

In the second, the Fire continued their solid play stretching their lead out to 13 by halftime. The second was much of the same, as the Fire kept their foot on the gas and ultimately won by 34.

Fire newcomer Jeremiah Gilliam led the Fire with 23 points off the bench, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter. K.D. Moore, playing his first game with the Fire since the 2024 season, scored 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Moore also grabbed three rebounds and dished out four assists.

Fire guard, and two-time TBL MVP, Chuck Guy flirted with a triple-double scoring 17 points while grabbing eight boards and handing out nine assists. His backcourt mate, Willie Warren, also scored 17 points while recording nine assists and five rebounds on the night. Jay Hedgeman scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Off the bench, Jahmal McMurray scored 15 points while Isaiah Wade had 11 points and eight rebounds. Reigning TBL Rookie of the Year Cam Williams had 10 points and five rebounds in his Fire debut.

ABOUT THE POTAWATOMI FIRE The Potawatomi Fire are the first professional basketball team owned by a Native American tribe (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) in Oklahoma. The Fire compete in the Central Conference of The Basketball League (TBL), a men’s professional basketball league, with roughly 40 teams across the U.S. and Canada. The Fire play their home games at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Through their first four years, the Fire have established themselves as the premier franchise in TBL. Along with winning the TBL championship in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Fire organization was named the 2022 winner of the Jim Koch Award as TBL’s Best Ran Business. The dance team of the Fire, the Fire Girls, were named TBL’s Best Dance Team in 2022 and 2025. The Fire Girls were also named the Central Conference Best Dance Team in 2023 and 2024.