The DuBois Dream opened its 2021 Premier Basketball League season at Erie Bank Sports Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, as the team joined several other clubs for the first PBL Showcase.
The Dream played the first of its three games against Toledo Glass City BC. DuBois struggled early and ended up facing a first quarter deficit that only continued to grow when Toledo opened the second quarter on a 14-4 run. Toledo scored a total of 24 points in the second frame and outshot DuBois 56%-36% in the first half. The score at the end of the second quarter was 35-19 in favor of Toledo.
The second half was much closer, but DuBois was unable to close the gap. The score at the end of quarter three was 54-34, and the final score for the game was 71-45. Toledo was powered by Tray Howard, who led all players in the game with 24 points, while adding five rebounds, two assists, and four steals.
For the Dream, Tony Acrie led the club in both points and rebounds with 13 of each. Cory Huff and Albert Varacallo III added 10 and nine points, respectively, while Connor Holobinko contributed a pair of assists.
The second game was an unscheduled contest for DuBois. The Dream filled in for a team that was unable to attend the showcase, and while stats are not available for the game that wasn’t originally supposed to feature DuBois, the Dream earned a victory by the score of 80-69 over Boston Elite.
The final game was played against the Roc City Ravens. The Ravens grabbed a quick 6-0 advantage, but the Dream hit a trio of early three-pointers to eventually knot things up at 11 points apiece. From there, the quarter was played pretty evenly, and the points poured in. At the conclusion of the opening frame, Roc City held a two point lead in a high-scoring quarter.
Unlike in the first contest, the Dream played a strong second quarter and ultimately took a lead into halftime. Cory Huff hit a three-point shot for DuBois as the period was set to expire, giving him three three-pointers in the half and 15 points overall.
The third quarter, like the first, was played very evenly, but Roc City took control of the fourth quarter, and that was ultimately enough to hand DuBois its second loss of the day. The Ravens were led by three players with 20 or more points in the high-scoring affair.
For DuBois, Cory Huff found his groove early in this game and led the way with 30 points, while Tony Acrie had another strong showing with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Albert Varacallo III and Bryce Bright both went for double digit points, adding five and seven assists, respectively.
The Dream came out of the PBL Showcase in Erie with a 1-2 record and two All-Showcase designations in Huff and Acrie. DuBois will return to the court on February 6 for the next PBL Showcase.