By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

After a slow start, the Florida Flight got a lift with two recent wins and are approaching first place in the World Basketball Association exposure league.

Flight point guard Dwayne Foreman hit a layup with three seconds remaining for a 114-112 win over the Franklin (Tenn.) Knights at the Kissimmee Civic Center Friday.

That came on the heels of an offensive explosion the week before, when the Flight beat the Marietta (Ga.) Storm, 144-137.

The Flight (7-4) are a game behind the Knights and Gwinnett Majic in the WBA standings.

The wins came after Flight President Mark King supplanted Levi Cobb as the head coach by mutual agreement.

Willie Irick led the Flight with 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and eight rebounds. Trevor Bing finished with 20 points and Alex Hill contributed 18. Foreman had 17 to go along with six assists.

Miss Florida USA 2010 Megan Clementi and reigning Miss Central Florida Teen USA Becca Chisholm took in the game, along with former Orlando Magic standout and Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Darrell Armstrong.

In the win on June 18, the Flight had seven players score in double figures, led  by Foreman (22, with 14 assists), Yusuf Baker (21) and Irick (20, with nine rebounds).

King said lighting up scoreboards has become the Flight’s trademark.

“We’ve got four guys averaging close to 20 points per game. That’s unheard of at any level,” he said. “There’s no team in the league who can stop us. The problem is, we’re not stopping anybody, either.”

The Flight are off this week and return to the court next on July 9 at the Civic Center against the Marietta Storm.

King said that he’s received input from the WBA that the Flight, despite its coaching change, is among the more stable franchises in the six-team league.

“The league visited us last week and raved about us,” he said.

The Flight’s final home game is July 18 against the winless (0-9) Decatur Court Kings.