(Rochester, New York – February 13, 2012)

Current RazorSharks basketball player, successful entrepreneur and executive Adam House of Boston, MA has finalized his investment and commitment to the Rochester RazorSharks organization.  Mr. House has successfully built multiple companies from the ground up, including Velocitude, a mobile services platform that was acquired by Akamai Technologies in June of 2010.  Having served as its Founder & CEO, House oversaw the company’s strategic direction, working directly with their flagship accounts and representing the company in the marketplace.

House grew up in Detroit MI playing basketball and always had a passion for the game but he left college after his freshman year to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. After successfully selling his most recent startup business, he returned to his first love – playing basketball.  He practiced and trained continuously and not only tried out for the Rochester RazorSharks, but made the team with stellar athletic performance.

Additionally, Mr. House was the founder and CEO of DMA International where he combined his knowledge of the financial industry along with his business skills to position DMA as the industry leader for lead generation, doubling revenues for five consecutive years.  In 2007, DMA was acquired by V12 Group.

“As an entrepreneur and businessman, it was easy to recognize the potential of the Premier Basketball League and what they’ve contributed towards minor league professional basketball.  When the long awaited opportunity arose to invest and become a part of the organization I moved quickly to seize this opportunity, stated Adam House.  “The RazorSharks organization has made a significant impact within the Rochester community including everything from the loyal fan base to their involvement with community service and outreach programs.  The city of Rochester is very sports savvy with additional minor league professional sports teams for hockey, baseball and soccer,” continued House.

My wife Vanessa and I, along with our three sons are looking forward to establishing ourselves in the city of Rochester and working with the community and the many businesses that have supported the RazorSharks throughout the years. RazorShark basketball is a tradition and with four championships in six years, it is a tradition I am excited to be part of,” stated House.  Mr. House will assume his new role and duties immediately.

For more information on the RazorSharks, please visit www.RazorSharks.com

RazorSharks Head Coach Rod Baker was first to speak to the students and spoke highly of them and their principal, Carol Jones, applauding the fact that they are loud and proud of who they are, leading right into his main point.

“There is clearly a high expectation for this school and the bar is set high,” said Baker. “Now what you need to do is allow yourselves to be taught by your teachers and learn and work hard towards what you want to accomplish in life.”

Guard Keith Friel went up next and discussed the importance in getting good grades, as no matter what one wants to do in life, one must have a second option and the best way to have a second option is to maintain high grades.

Friel continued with stories of him continuing to follow his dream by playing professional basketball, but knowing that it will not last forever, he stressed the importance of finding something else to do, which includes Friel potentially becoming a basketball coach himself.

The final speaker of the afternoon was Lavonne Richards, an employee from Bryant & Stratton heavily involved in the Don’t Foul Out program. A football player from East High School who went on to play at Kansas State on a scholarship, Richards also discussed the importance of keeping high grades to succeed in all aspects of life, and that starts with who one surrounds themselves with the right people.

“If you have common sense, you can dictate the outcome of your life,” said Richards. “You need to position yourself to be successful by surrounding yourself with good people and making your own good and smart decisions,” continued Richards.

As the assembly closed, the students of Vanguard High School provided the RazorSharks with a plaque, thanking them for their help and efforts.

“Working with the RazorSharks has been a very positive experience,” said Maria Scalise from Bryant & Stratton, who has worked with the RazorSharks in the Don’t Foul Out program for five years. “They have done a great job in the program to help inspire and get them to look at the big picture,” continued Scalise.

This will not be the last time the RazorSharks will see the students from Vanguard High School, as they will be guests for the game on Saturday, February 11^th versus the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Steamers.

For more information please visit www.RazorSharks.com

“It was an all-around team effort today,” said Todd McCoy of the RazorSharks, who finished the game with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.  “We were anxious to play and the team was ready.”

Everyone came to play on both offense and defense today, as the RazorSharks held the Steamers to a season low 38.7% shooting and gaining season highs in assists (27) and rebounds (69). The 69 rebounds are three shy of the all-time RazorSharks record.

The RazorSharks set these season highs after having a break of 13 days in between their last game and today’s game, leaving Head Coach Rod Baker a little restless.

“I was scared going into today after having so much time off,” said Baker. “But we came to play and it speaks volumes for where the team is going.” Even after two weeks off, the RazorSharks improve their record to 8-1 as they near the half-way point of the season.

Leading the way in the paint for the RazorSharks was Aaron Williams, in his first start of the season, with a team high 19 points and nine rebounds. Jamaal Davis recorded a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Brandon Webster came off the bench for an eight point and eight rebound performance.

The guards played a great all-around game themselves, as Tasheed Carr finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists and Melvin Council and Jerice Crouch had 6 and 5 assists, respectively.

“The RazorSharks out hustled us and pushed us hard” said Dennis Mishko, Steamers Associate Head Coach.”  “The Sharks run their set plays well, know how to defend and play well together.  That is why they are on top.”

Leading the way for the Steamers was Lionel Armstead, who joined the Steamers mid-season and finished the game with 14 points off the bench.  Rob Robinson had a double double with 12 points and a game high 14 rebounds while fellow starters Chris Commons and Tyler Bullock finished with 11 points. The loss drops the Steamers to 4-4 on the season.

The Rochester RazorSharks just finished up their three game, six day road trip to the states of Ohio and Michigan, their first road trip where they stayed the night outside of Rochester. The team has used the time to bond and did all the essentials when it comes to just hanging out.

“We have gone out to eat, went to see a movie, did a little shopping at the mall, and played some video games,” said Melvin Council. “We have taken the time to get to know each other.“ Bonding is an important part of any road trip, especially the first one for the new guys.

“Its been a good experience,” said Johnny Mayhane, one of the newest RazorSharks and fresh out of college. “It makes it easier to hang out with the guys and get to know them a little more, especially since we are all different ages.”

Mayhane recently graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA and is with his first professional basketball team and on his first professional road trip.

“It’s a lot less stressful now than in college,” said Mayhane. “There are so many other things to worry about while still in school.” Mayhane, and any other colligate athlete, has to go through the stress of bringing textbooks on the road and telling teachers that they will be gone and doing all their school work while being in a different place and trying to focus on playing the game.

As far as different places, many RazorSharks have made the trip outside of the United States to play professional basketball, including Todd McCoy who spent time playing basketball over in Jerusalem.

“It’s a much different experience than playing in America,” said McCoy. “We would have to stop and wait for a herd of cows to pass through the road, there were never any places with American foods, so I never ate well either.” McCoy was playing in Jerusalem as the Israeli-Palestine conflict continued, and although never in danger, found himself right in the middle of it one time.

“One night on the way back from a game, there was an explosion,” said McCoy. “No one died and [the team] was safe, but the road was shut down for a while. It was a crazy experience.”

Life on the road is always about the experiences, but traveling there can be tough, as buses are the main source of transportation for small market professional teams.

“Being uncomfortable on a long bus trip can be tough,” said Council. “While playing in Mexico, there were some cold nights where the heat on the bus did not work and the television would not work, so we could not even watch movies to pass the time.”

The enjoyment of a road trip comes from what players do in their down time. Some just like to sit back, relax and enjoy the free time, while others take advantage of their surroundings. While in college, Mayhane and his Tulane teammates traveled to Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic, opening up a new experience.

“I went surfing for the first time ever,” said Mayhane. “It was a lot of fun, plus we took care of business on the court, winning two of three games.” Not everything can be great about being away from home for so long though.

“The worst part is being away from your friends and family, especially when it for a long period of time,” said Council. “And it all becomes worse if the ride back home comes after taking a loss.”

Luckily, the RazorSharks did not take a loss during this road trip and look to continue their new winning streak as they go on the road again, this time on February 8th for a Wednesday night meeting in Dayton to face the Air Strikers.

Rochester used a second quarter surge to take the lead and did not look back, as key free throws down the stretch help preserve the win.

“Championship teams make their free throws,” said Jerice Crouch, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. “You have to execute the free throws to close the games out if you want to win.” Crouch went 7/8 from the free throw line in the game.

Assistant Coach Chris Iversen was pleased with the performance of Todd McCoy off the bench. McCoy missed three games earlier this season due to an ankle injury.

“I’m just trying to get my rhythm back,” said McCoy. “I have not been aggressive enough since I came back [from the injury] and have let things come to me, which is not the way I play. I have more confidence in my ankle, so I just need to keep being aggressive.” McCoy finished the day with 13 points.

In yesterday’s first half, Rochester struggled to rebound against Lake Michigan and emphasized the importance of rebounding both in the second half and in all of today’s game.

“We continued to fight for every rebound down the stretch against a very good rebounding team,” said Iversen. “But overall we still gave up too many offensive rebounds to them. It’s still something to work on.“ Jamaal Davis, Eric Walton, and Crouch tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.

“Its important to crash the boards hard every time,” said Davis, who had a team high 18 points to go with his team high seven rebounds. “You have to put your body into it and limit them to one shot.”

Lake Michigan forward Florentino Valencia had another big game against Rochester, as he finished with 20 points and a game high 15 rebounds. Teammate Odgra Bobo had a game high 26 points, while Courtney Blackmore and Rodney Alexander finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Both players also had nine rebounds.

Other leaders for Rochester include Melvin Council with seven points and six assists, Johnny Mayhane and Brandon Webster, who both finished with nine points and five rebounds, Aaron Williams with 12 points and Demetrius Howard with 10 points. All five of these players came off the bench.

With 5:46 left in the first quarter, Keith Friel scored on a fast break and was assisted by Crouch, making Crouch only the second RazorShark to have 400 career assists in a Rochester uniform, with the first being Lazarus Sims, who finished his RazorShark career with 435. During Saturday’s game, Crouch played in his 100th career game as a RazorShark, also second all time behind Friel’s 159 games.

“I’m in elite company,” said Crouch. “The best part of these accomplishments is the winning the team has done while I have been here.”

Rochester looks to continue its winning ways with another road game as they travel back to Ohio to play Dayton on February 8th.

After being down 45-43 and out-rebounded 34-23 in the first half, the RazorSharks left the locker room with an emphasis on finishing rebounds in the second half and limiting the Admirals to one possession per trip down the court.

“We got crushed in the first half,” said Eric Walton, who finished off a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. “In the second half, we got bodies on guys, boxed out, and focused on rebounding collectively as a unit.”

The RazorSharks did just that as they finished the game out-rebounding Lake Michigan 54-52, with a 31-18 advantage in the second half.

“We played hard until the end,” said Brandon Webster, who came off the bench to finish with 13 points and six rebounds. “We picked it up and fought [in the second half], but it is important that we play that way the entire game tomorrow.”

With 9:42 remaining in the third quarter, Walton hit a field goal to give him 1,001 points as a RazorShark, making him only the fifth player in the seven year history of the franchise to eclipse that mark.

“It’s a blessing,” said Walton. “I thank God for this gift and talent to play basketball and I’m thankful to be surrounded by a great team, coaches, and overall organization in the RazorSharks.”

Rochester continues to make its way into the paint with their big men, as all four scored in double figures. Joining Walton and Webster were starter Jamaal Davis, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds and Aaron Williams coming off the bench to finish with 15 points and six rebounds.

“We have very talented big men,” said Williams. “We can create our own offense, which opens up shots for the guards.” A big portion of the RazorSharks offense include many on and off-ball screens by the big men to help get open shots.

Leading the way for the Admirals was Florentino Valencia, who finished with a double-double of his own with game high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Rodney Alexander had 12 points and nine rebounds on the day and Tychicus Snow made his Admiral debut and ended with 11 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists off the bench.

Other leaders for the RazorSharks included Tasheed Carr’s 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists and Johnny Mayhane coming off the bench to finish with 15 points.

Rochester will try to cap off their three game road trip as they face Lake Michigan again on Sunday at 3pm.

“We need to limit them to one shot,” said guard Jerice Crouch (13.3 PPG, 5.7 APG). “Last game we gave them too many offensive rebounds, leading to second shots.” Last meeting, Lake Michigan had 18 offensive rebounds against Rochester and out-rebounded them by six.

The RazorSharks will have to work on slowing down Lake Michigan’s trio of forwards in Florentino Valencia (22.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG), Rodney Alexander (19.5 PPG, 6 RPG), and 7’3”Shagari Alleyne (11.5 PPG, 10 RPG).

“As a team, we need to go in with some attitude,” said guard Tasheed Carr (13.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG). “We need to be aggressive on both ends of the court and put pressure on their defense.” As always, Rochester looks to improve on their offensive efficiency and defensive intensity with each game.

This game will put the RazorSharks about one-third of the way through the 2012 season. With a short 20 game season, it can be hard for players to get comfortable with new teammates and for coaches to find the proper roles and minutes for each player, but the RazorSharks believe they have that solved.

“Its an on-going thing and there are still opportunities for guys to earn minutes,” said Assistant Coach Chris Iversen. “For the most part [head] Coach [Rod Baker] is comfortable with the rotation.”

The game will be broadcast live via atsports.tv at this link.

PLAYER NOTES

Forward Eric Walton is 7 points away from reaching 1,000 career points as a RazorShark, which will keep him fifth all-time behind Keith Friel (2,587), James “Mook” Reaves (1,558), Jerice Crouch (1,346), and Demond Steward (1,129).

Jerice Crouch will reach a milestone during Saturday’s game, as he will play his 100th game as a RazorShark, keeping him second behind Keith Friel’s 157 games. Crouch also needs four assists to put him at 400 (behind only Lazarus Sims’ 435) and three 3-pointers to put him at 100 (behind Friel’s 509 and Stewart’s 114).

Forward Jarhon Giddings and guards Adam House and Lonnell Shuler-Jones will again be inactive for the game on Saturday night.
RAZORSHARK LEADERS

Points Per Game            Rebounds Per Game        Assists Per Game

Jamaal Davis       17.0       Jamaal Davis       9.5       Jerice Crouch     5.7
Tasheed Carr      13.7       Eric Walton         6.8        Melvin Council    4.2
Jerice Crouch      13.3       Aaron Williams    3.8        Tasheed Carr     2.8
Aaron Williams    10.8       Tasheed Carr      3.7       Jamaal Davis       1.8
Eric Walton           9.8       Jerice Crouch      3.0        Eric Walton         1.8

For Immediate Release, January 26, 2012 – Chicago, IL.  In accordance to league guidelines and standards, the Premier Basketball League (PBL) released two teams, the Charleston Gunners and the Northwest Indiana Stars from the 2012 season due to failures in following established rules and standard operating procedures set forth in the PBL Operations Manual.

“We are watching teams closely and it became apparent that the league’s criteria was not followed correctly.  Additionally, we discovered and learned about allegations and problems with the ownership structure of these two teams, and therefore had we had no choice but to release them,” stated Brij Desai, PBL President and CEO.

“It’s been a challenge to oversee a few organizations as to what was stated and attested to during the application process for an ownership group to have a professional minor league basketball team in the PBL and the changes within these businesses once the season began,” continued Desai.

The Premier Basketball League discussed this amongst the other ownership groups to make them aware of the situation and a PBL Dispersal Draft was conducted as per the League’s 196 page Operations Manual.  The draft was held yesterday and the results are as follows:

Ø  Lake Michigan Admirals drafted Colby Batiste

Ø  Indiana Diesels drafted Keith Radchiff

Ø  Scranton Wilkes-Barre Steamers drafted Lionel Armstead

Ø  Sauk Valley Predators drafted Vince Goldsberry

The league’s schedule has been revised accordingly and will be released on Friday January 27^th, 2012 at 5:00pm CST.

For more information on the Premier Basketball League visit www.ThePBL.com

The win puts the RazorSharks at 5-1 and in first place in the Eastern Division of the Premier Basketball League, while dropping the Air Strikers to 1-4 and sitting in last at 3.5 games behind.

Five players from each team scored in double digits, including Eric Walton’s game high 22 points for Rochester and Dayton’s leading scorer in Bo Harris, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“Overall, we are getting better,” said Walton. “We just need to tighten up a couple screws, which will make us the best possible team that we can be.”

The RazorSharks have been more satisfied with their offensive play recently and were strong in the paint again, as Jamaal Davis continues his strong performance (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Aaron Williams was tough off the bench again with 11 points, both complimenting Walton’s 22 points.

“Our offense is there, but we still do not have enough good defensive segments,” said Jerice Crouch (16 points, 6 assists). “Those things can take some time, so hopefully we keep improving each game.

The Air Strikers ran an efficient offense with three double-doubles including Harris, Avery Smith’s 10 points and 12 assists and Brandon Russ’ 14 points and 12 rebounds. CJ Hampton and Mark Gomillia finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

“We need to stop our opponents from scoring so many points.” said Walton. “Getting stops on the defensive end is more important [than scoring] and we need [to secure more rebounds] to limit teams to one possession each trip down.”

The RazorSharks look to improve their defense while they continue their road trip as they go to Lake Michigan for a battle with the Admirals, this Saturday at 6pm.

As with any story about the RazorSharks on game day , its all about improving the offensive efficiency and defensive intensity, and no one is a bigger critic than the RazorShark coaching staff.

“We were definitely better at both ends last game, but we can still improve.” said Assistant Coach Chris Iversen. This past Sunday, the RazorSharks defeated the Lake Michigan Admirals 112-100.

If the coaching staff is the biggest critic, they have carried it over to the players as well, as everyone on the roster wants to make sure they improve as a team and as an individual as every game and practice goes by.

“You have to continue to get better every day and carry everything over,” said forward Jamaal Davis (17 PPG, 9.6 RPG). “You have to learn what [Head] Coach [Rod Baker] wants and you have to learn what your teammates around you are going to offer.”

The Razorsharks look to slow down the offense of Dayton scoring forwards Bo Harris (15.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG), Aaron Perry (12.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG), CJ Hampton (11.8 PPG) and Mark Gomilla (11.3 PPG).

“Big men are a point of concentration for us,” said Iversen. “We need to establish ours early. Davis has done well lately (22.5 PPG, 15.5 RPG in last two games), so we need to keep our big men fresh.”

The RazorSharks will be on the road for their next three games, but all games are available streaming online courtesy of atsports.tv. Check in on SharkBytes for game previews and recaps for the road trip.

PLAYER NOTES

Due to the return of guard Todd McCoy from injury and the improved play by forward Brandon Webster in Sunday‘s win, the RazorSharks will have forward Jarhon Giddings and guards Adam House and Lonnell Shuler-Jones inactive for Tuesday’s game in Dayton.

RAZORSHARK LEADERS

Points Per Game            Rebounds Per Game        Assists Per Game

Jamaal Davis      17.0        Jamaal Davis       9.6        Jerice Crouch     5.6
Tasheed Carr      14.8        Eric Walton         7.4        Melvin Council    4.4
Melvin Council    12.8        Aaron Williams    4.2        Tasheed Carr      3.8
Jerice Crouch     12.8        Tasheed Carr       3.8        Jamaal Davis      1.6
Aaron Williams   10.8        Jerice Crouch      3.0        Eric Walton        1.6