BY WHITNEY BERMES

Of the News-Register

It's hard to score when you don't have the ball.

Just ask the Yamhill HighFlyers. In their Friday night matchup with Bellingham, the Flyers turned the ball over 26 times. And the Slam took full advantage, netting 33 points off those turnovers in a lopsided loss for Yamhill.

"I told the guys we'd continue to lose if they didn't make a commitment to defense and share the ball and play smart," HighFlyers coach Bubba Jones said. "We haven't been playing very smart. I like to tell the guys high schoolers play a better brand of basketball than we've been playing lately."

The HighFlyers suffered their fifth straight loss with a 122-90 walloping at the hands of the Bellingham Slam at Linfield's Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Yamhill hasn't won a game in more than a month, the last victory coming over Bellingham, in fact, on the Slam's home floor.

"We're throwing the ball away, we're getting beat in every aspect of the game, offense and defense," Jones said. "I yelled and screamed the last few games and my voice went out. That didn't work. So I got a little quiet on them. That didn't work. But I told them I haven't given up on them. We'll just keep battling and hopefully we'll snap out of it."

With the loss, the Flyers fell to fifth in the International Division of the International Basketball League with an 8-7 record. Only the Central Oregon Hotshots and the Oregon Waves rank below Yamhill.

Bellingham, on the other hand, stayed safely in second place by moving its record to 10-5 overall, behind division-leading Olympia.

Missing from Yamhill's lineup Friday evening was the IBL's eighth-leading scorer, Curtis Nash, and his 23.4 points a game, out with a knee injury.

Also missing from the court was some much needed HighFlyers intensity. Bellingham looked quick and feisty while Yamhill looked lethargic and downtrodden.

Bellingham led from start to finish. In the first quarter, the HighFlyers were able to tie things up at 14 points and again at 16 before the Slam pulled away for good.

Nate Bowie led the way offensively for Yamhill, coming away with 23 points to go with nine assists. Jason Hartford recorded a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Durell Nevels joined Hartford with his own double-double, snaring 13 rebounds to accompany his 11 points, three steals and four blocked shots, a game high.

Despite the loss, Jones said he and his team enjoyed playing at Linfield.

"I love the place. It's a good setting," Jones said. "The crowd was decent. We'll be back."

It was a short stay at home for the HighFlyers, however, as Yamhill hits the road for a four-game road trip to Canada. First stop is Sunday in British Columbia as the HighFlyers pay a visit to the BC Titans, who are in fourth place with a 9-7 record.

Yamhill then travels to Edmonton to take on the Energy in three straight games, starting Thursday night. The HighFlyers won't return home until Friday, June 25 when they play host to the Oregon Waves. It will be the Flyers' last home game at McMinnville High School.

The remaining two will be played at Linfield.

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