Albuquerque, N.M., March 21, 2008 – The Albuquerque Thunderbirds held off a late surge by the Tulsa 66ers for their sixth straight victory 114-108. Alando Tucker led all scorers in the game with 33 points for the Thunderbirds.

“This was a good win for us against a team that played well tonight,” Thunderbirds Head Coach Jeff Ruland said. “We just need to keep taking things one game at a time and see what happens.”

Albuquerque had six players score double figures including Julius Hodge who had 20 points and Darvin Ham who added another 15 points. Cheyne Gadson pitched in 11 points off the bench in his first game with the Thunderbirds. Gadson was recently traded to Albuquerque from the Austin Toros.

Tulsa was led by Ronald DuPree who scored 27 points. Mike Hall contributed a double-double with 18 points and 13 assists. Chris Ellis added 14 points for Tulsa off the bench.

Tucker exploded in the fourth quarter scoring 14 of Albuquerque’s 36 points. Albuquerque held off a late Tulsa rally by hitting on four of six free-throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Both teams struggled to gain an advantage in the third quarter and struggled even harder to score points. Tulsa outscored Albuquerque 19-14 in the third quarter cutting the Thunderbird lead to 78-75 through three.

Fontenet had 9 points for Tulsa in the second quarter helping keep the game close. Albuquerque maintained an eight point lead at the half, 64-56, thanks to 56.3% shooting for the first half.

Albuquerque opened the game with a 12-4 run helping them grab the early lead. The Thunderbirds led 30-23 after the first quarter.

Albuquerque gets back to action Sunday, March 23rd against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Game time is set for 3:00 pm at the Staples Center in L.A. The game will be the first of a seven game road trip for the Thunderbirds.

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