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Flame Vault Into First Place Tie With 95-92 Win Over Patriots

December 17, 2005 - NBA G League (G League)
Florida Flame News Release


ESTERO, Fla. - Playing the majority of the night without the D-League's leading scorer Bracey Wright, the Florida Flame gutted out a come-from-behind 95-92 victory over the Fayetteville Patriots at Germain Arena. With the win, Florida (6-2) moves into a virtual tie for first place with Arkansas (7-3) atop the NBA Development League standings.

The Flame earned their third straight victory and fifth in their last six overall. With the loss, Fayetteville (2-8) suffered its sixth straight defeat and seventh in eight games on the road.

Both teams were missing key contributors, as the Flame lost Bracey Wright to back spasms and Josh Gross to a separated shoulder in the first half, while the Patriots were without Erik Daniels, who was injured in Friday night's contest.

Leading by eight points at halftime, 46-38, Fayetteville extended its advantage twice to 13 points in the third quarter. Carlos Hurt's three-point play gave the Patriots a 51-38 lead with 11:02 left and Kevin Johnson's two free throws propelled Fayetteville to a 53-40 advantage with 10:32 remaining in the period.

The Flame responded with a 26-12 run over the final 10 minutes of the period to take a 66-65 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Ricky Shields, Andre Barrett and Kendall Dartez combined for 14 points in the spurt as Florida capitalized on the Patriots poor shooting and six turnovers in the period to surge ahead. Shields would connect for 9 points in the stanza and the Flame hit 10-of-18 shots from the floor.

In a fourth quarter which saw 10 lead changes and 10 ties, the Flame made the key plays down the stretch to earn the win. Duane Erwin, Roderick Riley, and Kaniel Dickens all fouled out in the period, opening the door for Florida. Following two free throws from Norm Richardson with 1:52 left that gave Fayetteville an 88-86 advantage, the Flame scored six straight points to retake the lead. Theron Smith hit two free throws, Austin Nichols knocked down a running jumper, and Barrett capped off the spurt with 1:00 remaining to give Florida a 92-88 lead.

The Patriots were done however, as back-to-back lay-ups from Mark Karcher and Mike King tied the score at 92 apiece with 6.8 seconds to go. But Hurt fouled Barrett going for a loose ball on the ensuing inbounds play with 2.9 seconds left and Barrett hit one of two free throws to put Florid back in front, 93-92. Johnson's inbounds pass to Mark Karcher was stolen by E.J. Rowland, who was fouled with 0.4 seconds left. A Hurt technical foul gave Rowland three shots at the foul stripe and the rookie, point guard hit two of three free throws to up the Flame advantage to 95-92. A desperation heave by Hurt at the horn was no good and Florida survived for their third win in four home games.

The Flame were led by six players in double figures. Shields notched a team-high 13 points, Barrett finished with 12 points, Rowland and Nichols each contributed 11 points, while Smith and George Leach posted 10 points apiece in the victory. Fayetteville was led by six players in double figures. Karcher hit for a game-high 19 points, while Johnson, Riley, and Dickens all contributed 14 points.

The Flame and Patriots will return to action on Thursday, December 22 as Florida travels to the Crown Coliseum to face the Patriots at 7:00 p.m. EST.

For additional information, please visit floridaflame.com or contact Florida Flame Director of Media Relations, Tim Becwar at (239) 561-8130 and tbecwar@nba.com. For additional information on the NBA Development League please visit NBADLEAGUE.com.

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