Bynum leads Dazzle past Fayetteville, 117-110
January 21, 2006 - NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
The Fayetteville Patriots started strong, building an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter. But Roanoke recovered to take the lead for good before halftime and pulled out a 117-110 win in NBA D-League action at the Crown Coliseum Saturday night. The Patriots drop to 4-15, while the Dazzle improve to 10-12. The two play again Sundayafternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Crown.
The Patriots opened quickly, riding the hot hands of Erik Daniels and Gerald Green to a 24-13 lead with 5:40 left in the period. Daniels notched nine points in the frame, while Green had eight. But the Dazzle settled down and slowly chipped away at the lead. It was at five to start the second and an Isiah Victor dunk with 4:33 remaining in the half tied the game at 45-45. At that point, Roanoke went on a 14-4 tear that put the Dazzle up by 10 at the break.
"What happened there was we got a lot of chances at easy buckets that we couldn't make," said Patriots head coach Mike Brown. "Layups, four or five-foot jumpers, free throws - that hurt us bad. When you miss two free throws, that"s like a turnover because you get nothing and they're coming back the other way."
Will Bynum paced Roanoke to a 17-point leadin the third and each time Fayetteville tried to whittle it down, the Dazzle were able to respond. The Patriots cut it to five by the end of the third, but it was back at 14 four minutes later. They pulled to within three late, but again it was Bynum who refused to let Fayetteville complete a rally. He closed the game with six consecutive free throws and a steal in the game's final 10 seconds.
Victor had 22 in support of Bynum,while Bryant Matthews added 20. Daniels had 20 and Mike King hit for 19 tolead the Patriots. Mateen Cleaves scored eight and had four assists and two steals in his first game with the Patriots, after signing with the team earlier Saturday.
"The positive thing is we got a lot of good defensive stops that became scoring opportunities," Brown said. "A lot of that was with a new guy that got here five hours before tipoff."
The D-League offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA's umbrella. Thirty-four (34) players have been called up to the NBA on 50 separate occasions. Ten (10) former D-League coaches, five athletic trainers, 11 referees and 30 front office executives have also been called up since the start of the league's inaugural season in November of 2001.
Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the league also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. The D-League is a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 30 teams and is a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions.
For more information on the Patriots or the NBA D-League, visit fayettevillepatriots.com or call (910) 213-1005.
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