by Scott
In his first game with the Springfield Armor, Tornike Shengelia (known simply as ‘Toko’), recored a triple double with 22 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a loss against the Erie BayHawks. To nobody’s surprise, he was quickly recalled by the Nets, where he resumed his role as a bench warmer. But after spending little to no time with the Nets over the last several weeks, ‘Toko’ was sent back down to the Armor for last nights game and in the words of James Mays, he “went off.”
If you caught the first quarter of the game, you may not have been impressed with the Nets’ rookie. But just remember that Toko had only played a total of 14 minutes for the Nets this January, so it was inevitable that he’d have to shake off some rust and that he did, as he turned the ball over four times and managed only two points (1-4 FG) in the opening quarter. Good news is that after he got a quick breather on the bench, he began pouring it on. In the fourth quarter alone, Toko scored 14 points and pulled down 9 rebounds as the Armor overcame a small deficit to win by a final score of 123-115. He finished the night with a very gaudy stat line of 39 points (17-21 FG), 18 rebounds, six assists and three steals. The only downside – seven turnovers. I’m guessing Nets/Armor fans will be quick to forgive him for that though.
Toko’s offensive onslaught also broke some records along the way. Toko not only became the first member of the Springfield Armor to score 39 points in a game since December 15th, 2009, but he now holds the record for field goals made in a game, with 17. As a team, the Armor also broke a record by making a total of 50 field goals.
Toko’s averages are now at 30.5 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and three steals per game for the Armor. Not bad for a 21 year old who’s only getting 4.2 minutes per game with the Nets.
Shengelia’s record breaking night
Read more at the D-League Game Story.
