Albuquerque, N.M., February 1, 2008 – The Dakota Wizards defeated the Albuquerque Thunderbirds 115 – 97. Blake Ahearn led all scorers with 27 points for the Wizards on 9 of 15 shooting.

Four other players scored double digits for Dakota including Carlos Powell who nearly registered a triple – double, 26 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Dontell Jefferson added 21 points for the Wizards including hitting on 3 out of 4 three point shots.

Daniel Horton led the Thunderbirds in a losing effort with 26 points to go along with 9 assists. Four other Thunderbirds scored in double digits including Kevin Pittsnogle and Jamaal Thomas who pitched in 13 and 18 points off the bench.

Ahearn led all scorers in the first quarter with 7 points for the Wizards who hit all three 3 – point shots they attempted in the quarter. Helping them to a 24 – 19 lead over the Thunderbirds after one quarter.

Jefferson and Powell each scored 9 second quarter points for the Wizards. Dakota outscored Albuquerque 33 – 24 in the second quarter helping them to a 57 – 43 halftime lead.

Dakota out rebounded Albuquerque 11 – 6 in the third quarter helping them to outscore the Thunderbirds 18 – 10 in the paint in the quarter. After three quarters Dakota had narrowly extended their lead to 88 – 74.

Dakota continues their road trip tomorrow night, Saturday, February 2nd, against the Bakersfield Jam before returning home to take on the Austin Toros next Tuesday, February 5th.

The Thunderbirds get back to action Tuesday, February 5th against the Bakersfield Jam; game time is set for 10:30 a.m. It will be the Thunderbirds second School House Jam game this season, sponsored by News Papers in Education, every kid at the game will be presented with an educational workbook.

Thunderbirds 2007–08 single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at abqtbirds.com, any Ticketmaster location or at the Thunderbirds front office at 111 Lomas Blvd. NE, Suite 240, Albuquerque, NM 87102. For premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at (505) 265-DUNK.

The Thunderbirds stay focused on the community by participating in community events such as the Read to Achieve Program as well as D-League Cares. In the past two seasons the Thunderbirds have worked over 3,000 hours in the community, staying dedicated to Albuquerque and New Mexico.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 14 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 16 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats. The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like the live web-streaming of all games available free to fans at d-league.com. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.

Individually, the Thunderbirds have had two player call-ups, two front office call-ups, two training staff call-ups and three call-ups from the Storm Chasers Dance and Cheer squad.

Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the D-League offers NBA-quality basketball and fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. For additional information on the NBA Development League, visit NBADLEAGUE.com