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COLUMBUS COMPLETES SWEEP OF PATRIOTS

March 22, 2002 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


RIVERDRAGONS WIN 82-76; HEAD TO MOBILE TO DECIDE PLAYOFF POSITION

COLUMBUS, Ga., March.22, 2002-Nate Johnson, in his first game back from a strained left hamstring, had 20 points and five assists to lead the playoff-bound Columbus Riverdragons to a 82-76 victory over the Fayetteville Patriots at the Columbus Civic Center on Friday night. With the victory, the Riverdragons swept the season series between the two teams stringing together six straight wins over Fayetteville.

"We have to focus more on certain things," said Riverdragons head coach Jeff Malone. "As an example we were 10-22 from the free throw line tonight. We are not going to win playoff games like that. We have to focus more. There were times this year that if we were more mentally tough we could be fighting for a one or a two seed right know and have home court in the playoffs. We are going to have to be ready to play, no matter who we are playing."

The Riverdragons (30-25) travel to Mobile tonight and will face the third place Revelers at the Mobile Civic Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net-South, the winner earns the three seed in the playoffs. The Revelers own the tiebreaker having won the season series 6-3 with one game to play.

The first-place Greenville Groove and second-place N. Charleston also face each other on Saturday night with the winner taking the top seed in the upcoming 2002 NBDL Playoffs, which tip-off on Sunday, March 24 in N. Charleston. Both Greenville and N. Charleston were winners on Friday night.

Despite getting a league-record tying 36 points from sharp-shooting Greg Stempin and a double-double from Jameel Watkins (14 points, 13 rebounds), the Patriots (21-35) suffered the loss in the team's final game of the regular season to finish seventh in the NBDL standings. The Patriots went 16-18 under Jeff Capel after the former Old Dominion head coach replaced Nate "Tiny" Archibald on January 8.

Stempin's 36-point effort on 10-of-24 shooting from the floor (4-11 3FGA's) ties teammate's Terrell McIntyre's single-game scoring record set against N. Charleston on February 8. McIntyre did not play tonight and missed the last month of the season after suffering a left ankle sprain in Columbus on February 15.

The Riverdragons finished the first half on a 9-2 run, capped by a thunderous two-handed follow-up slam by Gabe Muoneke with 1.8 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give Columbus a 39-31 lead at halftime. Muoneke, making his first start since March 13 finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, despite struggling from the line hitting just 2-of-9 free throw attempts.

The Riverdragons would lead by as many as 14 points, staking a 63-49 lead, at the end of the third quarter. The Patriots made things interesting, outscoring the Riverdragons 27-19 in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to four points (75-71) with 2:03 remaining in regulation. Tang Hamilton responded scoring four points in a twelve second stretch capped by two free throws with 1:11 to play to give the Riverdagons a 79-71 lead to put the game out of reach.

Hamilton in his second straight start at small forward posted a season-high 16 points and seven rebounds and forward Sean Daugherty knocked down 2-of-4 3-point field goal attempts on his way to pitching in 14 points for the Riverdragons.

Immediately following the game, a crowd of 2,095 at the Civic Center was also treated to an in-concert performance by gospel music star Nicole C. Mullen, the 2001 Gospel Music Association "Songwriter of the Year."

QUOTE SHEET

COLUMBUS 82 FAYETTEVILLE 76

March 22, 2002,

COLUMBUS CIVIC CENTER

RIVERDRAGONS QUOTES:

HEAD COACH JEFF MALONE:

We have to focus more on certain things. As an example we were 10-22 from the free throw line tonight. We are not going to win playoff games like that. We have to focus more. There were times this year that if we were more mentally tough we could be fighting for a one or a two seed right know and have home court in the playoffs. We have got to play somebody. We are going to have to be ready to play, no matter who we are playing.

GUARD NATE JOHNSON:

We have to learn how to put teams away when we are up late in the game. However there are good teams in this league and everyone is competitive until the final whistle. Now we have to get ready for the final game tomorrow with Mobile and the playoffs.

GUARD SAUL SMITH:

Tonight was a total team effort and a good win. Now we have to get ready for Mobile tomorrow and the playoff run. We don't care who we play in the playoffs. We just know that we are going to have to play somebody and we have to get ready for them.

HEAD COACH JEFF CAPEL:

Tonight was different than most of this year. We were shorthanded I only came down here with 8 players and I realized that only 6 of them wanted to play the way I thought they should have been playing. The players I had in the game didn't quit tonight, the just got fatigued and that hurt us.

On Stempin tying teammate Terrell McIntyre's 36-point effort:

We told Greg after the first quarter that we were going to treat him like a quarter horse. We were gonna ride him hard and put him up wet. We got him the ball and he made some big shots in the clutch. But late in the game fatigue became a factor for him as well.

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