CBA leaders Xinjiang sweep Marbury's Beijing

After suffering their first loss of the season to Fujian, leaders Xinjiang beat defending champions Beijing 97-91 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Friday.

Former Beijing player Li Gen was instrumental in the victory, scoring a team-high 27 points which included Xinjiang's last two points following a steal with 10.2 seconds on the clock.

It was Xinjiang's second win over Beijing. On the season's opener, Xinjiang spoiled Beijing's champion ring award ceremony with a 103-97 road win. Minutes later, Li Gen, who helped Beijing to a third CBA title, received his champion ring outside Xinjiang's locker room.

Center Zhou Qi hit one of two free throws to put Xinjiang 94-91 ahead with 35.9 seconds remaining. After former NBA star Stephon Marbury failed to cut the deficit on his layup, Zhou Qi had the rebound, only to be fouled. He hit one out of two again.

Zhou added 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Andray Blatche returned from a three-game absence to have 19 points and nine boards.

Lester Hudson scored 33 points and had seven steals, but failed to prevent last season runners-up Liaoning from a 103-99 beating by Foshan.

Foshan's Jerrelle Benimon, who shared a game-high 33 points with Hudson, started the game with two straight three-pointers. Having led 29-19 at the end of the first quarter, Foshan never looked back.

Guangdong and Guangsha, with one win less than Xinjiang, made short work of Tongxi and Bayi respectively.

In their 122-98 victory, five Guangdong players scored double-digit points, led by Ike Diogu's 29. Tongxi's Von Wafer had a game-high 32 points.

Eli Holman and Jeremy Pargo combined for 27 points, but Guangsha still managed to ease over Bayi 98-83. Zhao Yanhao, 18, scored a game-high 20 points for Guangsha.

In other matches, Tianjin lost to Aolong 111-95, Fujian crushed Qingdao 124-99, Jilin lost to Jiangsu 106-92, Shandong edged Zhejiang 108-106, Shanxi sank Shanghai 122-114, and Sichuan beat Shenzhen 114-112. Endi