Following two consecutive sloppy losses against Shaanxi Xinda and Hebei Xianglan, the eighth-ranked Jiangsu Hualan finally snapped its losing skid at the expense of the ninth-ranked Beijing Dongfan with a 131-122 victory in the 25th round of the Chinese National Basketball League (NBL) on Sunday.

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With the win, Hualan improved to a 14-11 win-loss record. The team is currently tied with Luoyang Zhonghe, who lost to the league's second-best team Anhui Wenyi 112-92.

According to EuroBasket, former New Mexico State University hotshot Wendell McKines led Hualan with an impressive double-double performance of game-highs 43 points and 16 rebounds along with two assists and one steal in 48 minutes of playing.

The 2012 Western Athletic Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, who is in his first season with the team, went 18 for 32 from the field including two three-pointers from beyond the arc area and made 5 of 9 from the foul line.

Fellow American player Craig Brackins added 24 points and nine boards while Chinese guard Yang Wang finished the game with 23 markers. Local players Yaoyang Guo and Yuxiang Gao chipped in 20 points and 19 points respectively for the winners, according to Asia-Basket.

Hualan will be hosting the 11^th ranked Jiangsu Lions on Wednesday while Beijing will play Jianghuai Lightning on the same day.

Foreign basketball reinforcement Emanuel Jones paced the losing side with a team-high 38 points and 13 rebounds. The American forward got help from local players Han Qiaowen and Yuanpeng Gao, who scored a combined 64 points. However, it was not enough to secure the victory.

Beijing now has a 13-12 win-loss record and is just four games ahead of the 10^th ranked Hunan (9-16)

Tagswendell mckines, new mexico state aggies, chinese nbl, emanuel jones, craig brackins, western athletic conference