Sunday, Jun. 07, 2009

Fever still can't connect as record falls to 1-9

HERALD STAFF

STOCKTON, Calif. -- It is no secret that a lack of offense has plagued the Tri-Cities Fever all season.

That continued Saturday night, but along with it came a defense that failed to slow down the Stockton offense.

The Lightning scored on every offensive possession before running the clock out in the closing minute, pulling away for a 53-37 af2 win over the Fever at Stockton Arena.

"This game was winnable and we let it get away," said Fever coach Pat O'Hara, whose team trailed only 29-28 at halftime.

It was the third straight loss for the Fever (1-9) since beating the Lightning (4-6) last month at Toyota Center.

The road only gets more difficult from here. Boise (8-2) is at Tri-Cities on Saturday night. The Burn has beaten the Fever twice this season by an average of 41 points. The following week, the Fever heads to Spokane (9-0).

Tomotsuna Inoue had his moments in his first start at quarterback. He led the Fever to touchdowns on all four of its first-half possessions. But just like last week, he struggled in the second half.

The rookie from Japan threw three interceptions and had just one touchdown pass as the Fever scored nine second-half points.

Inoue finished 23-of-44 for 312 yards and four touchdowns.

"It's so disappointing because we were pitching and catching," O'Hara said. "For some reason we didn't come out and play in the second half."