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Altitude Clinch NBDL Championship

April 10, 2004 - NBA G League (G League)
Asheville Altitude News Release


ASHEVILLE, N.C., April 10, 2004 - Fans cheered and confetti flew as the Asheville Altitude captured their first NBDL Regular Season Championship in convincing fashion with a 122-113 victory over the Fayetteville Patriots at the Asheville Civic Center Saturday night. Asheville?s Desmond Penigar led all scorers with his seventh 30-point performance of the season.

The Altitude seemed to have the game firmly in hand, leading by as much as 25 points in the third quarter, before Fayetteville sliced Asheville?s lead to four points following a 18-4 run with 5:37 to play. Despite the Patriots effort, the Altitude proved why they are the regular season champs, responding with their own 12-3 run to push the lead back to a comfortable 13 points (120-107) with 43 seconds in the game.

"They fought the whole game," said Penigar, "but we wanted it and we made plays at the end of the game."

The win, which is Asheville?s eighth straight at the Asheville Civic Center, guarantees the Altitude home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The team experienced a remarkable turnaround after opening the season 2-8 and dwelling at the bottom of the league standings throughout December. They fought their way to the top with a strong finish, going 25-10 overall, and 14-3 since the beginning of March.

"It?s a long season and I?m really happy for these guys," said Asheville Head Coach Joey Meyer. "It?s hard to sacrifice personal goals at this level and play as a team. I really appreciate everything they?ve done and it?s fun to win a regular season championship."

Coach Meyer, the winningest coach in the NBDL, currently boast a 77-75 overall record in his three year tenure with the Altitude.

The teamwork Meyer spoke of proved to be the winning formula for the Altitude again as they dished out 34 assists on 46 field goals with six players scoring in double-figures. Greg Stevenson poured in 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kareem Reid pitched in a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 10 assists coming off the bench.

Kris Lang stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double of his own, posting10 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals. Brandin Knight and Rusty LaRue added 12 points and seven assists apiece. With the victory, LaRue becomes the only player to win both an NBA and NBDL Championship. He was with the Chicago Bulls when they won their championship in 1998.

Jason Capel put up a valiant effort in the loss as he tallied 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Cedric Henderson added 21 points, six assists and four rebounds. Friday night?s buzzer-beating hero Kenny Satterfield netted 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Bryan Lucas set the NBDL record for double-doubles with his 19th, pouring in 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Asheville and Fayetteville will square off at the Asheville Civic Center again Saturday, April 17 in the first round of the NBDL playoffs. The Altitude will receive their championship trophy at that game.

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