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G League Grand Rapids Drive

Drive Regroup After First Quarter to Beat BayHawks in OT

December 4, 2017 - NBA G League (G League)
Grand Rapids Drive News Release


ERIE - The Grand Rapids Drive (6-8) rallied from a 26-point deficit, including being down 23 at the end of the first quarter, to defeat the Erie BayHawks (5-8) by a 108-105 final in overtime on the road on Friday night.

Bronson Koenig's three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Drive a three-point lead that they did not relinquish, as they kept the BayHawks from shooting a three and Luis Montero was able to hit both his free throws as Erie was forced to foul. Jaylen Morris had an opportunity to tie the game on Erie's last possession but was off the mark.

Derek Willis led six Drive players in double figures with 21 points, Landry Nnoko had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Koenig finished with 18 points as well. Speedy Smith was also instrumental in the Drive comeback with 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and a career-high 16 assists.

Josh Magette had 19 points and nine assists for Erie, Morris provided 16 points and seven rebounds and Roscoe Smith did not start but still managed to score 16 points. Tyler Dorsey, on assignment from the Atlanta Hawks, could not get much going from the field for much of the game, but finished with eight points, six rebounds and nine assists.

Dorsey had what looked like the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer to tie the game at 101 with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. The Drive had come all the way back from being down 26 early and appeared to have the game nearly sealed, leading by eight points with 5:15 remaining. But Erie came charging back and the Drive had to earn the win in overtime.

Fresh off snapping their franchise record eight-game losing streak the previous night, the Drive looked overwhelmed in the first quarter, making just 6-of-23 field goal attempts while the BayHawks connected on two-thirds of their attempts and jumped out to a 39-16 lead by the end of the first 12 minutes. Roscoe Smith came pretty close to matching the Drive's total for that quarter himself with 10 points off the bench.

But that strong defensive effort early from the BayHawks did not prove to be sustainable as the Drive poured in 66 points in the second and third quarter combined, with Erie managing just 39 in that same span. The Drive set a season high in assists with 28, but the BayHawks were just as effective with their ball movement as they piled up 28 assists of their own. Despite the disparate scoring from quarter to quarter, the two teams performed quite similarly statistically over the course of the game.

Coming off three games in four days, the Drive get a small break before their next game, which will be the first game against the expansion Wisconsin Herd at home on Monday night. The BayHawks take on a back-to-back of their own, hosting Reno tomorrow.

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