Armor Crush the Claws
December 8, 2011 - NBA G League (G League)
Springfield Armor News Release
SPRINGFIELD, MA- Lance Hurdle led six players in double figures with a season-high 28 points as the Armor defeated the Maine Red Claws 97-89 tonight at the MassMutual Center. The Armor improve to 3-1 and currently sit atop the NBA D-League's Eastern Conference standings.
The Armor got off to a slow start tonight and trailed the Red Claws by as many as nine in the first quarter before closing the gap to 24-18 by the end of the first.
In the second quarter, the Armor burst out of the gate on an 8-2 run, fueled by consecutive baskets from Travis Cohn, David Akinyooye and the newly-acquired Marcus Hill. The rest of the second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with the Armor pulling to within two, 45-43, at the half on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Jamar Brown.
The third quarter proved to be as competitive as the second, but the Armor grabbed their largest lead of the game, 68-60, on a driving layup by David Akinyooye with less than a minute to go in the quarter. The Red Claws quickly cut the deficit down to 70-67 before Cohn buried a buzzer-beating three-pointer from way beyond the arc to give the Armor a 73-67 lead through three.
The Armor seized momentum to open the fourth quarter as they capped an 11-4 run with a Brown jumper to give the Armor their largest lead of the night, 84-71, with less than nine minutes to play. Although the game featured four lead changes and seven ties, Maine never got closer than seven points in the fourth as the Armor topped the Red Claws for the third straight time this season.
Hurdle led the Armor tonight, knocking down 11-17 from the field for a team-high 28 points. Brown was a force on the glass, recording his second double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Cohn, Akinyooye and Johnny Thomas chipped in with a combined 34 points. The trio had combined for 11 points in the previous three games.
The Red Claws, who fell to 1-4 tonight, were led by Durrell Summers' game-high 30 points. Recently-acquired Domenic Calegari added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Armor hit the road tomorrow to head to Fort Wayne to take on the Mad Ants before returning home for back-to-back games against the Erie BayHawks on Wednesday, Dec. 14 and Thursday, Dec. 15.
SEASON AND GROUP TICKET PACKAGES ON SALE NOW: The Springfield Armor are proud to offer affordable full season, partial season and group ticket options to our fans for the upcoming 2011-12 season. For more information on all of our ticket opportunities, contact an Armor representative by calling (413) 746-3263 or by visiting our office located at One Monarch Place - Suite 220, Springfield, MA 01144.
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