Dazzle cruise to victory over Asheville

Published on February 3, 2005 under NBA G League (G League)
Asheville Altitude News Release


ASHEVILLE, N.C., February 3, 2005 – When you've only got eight players, staying out of foul trouble is essential. Thursday, Roanoke (15-9) was able to take away the aggressiveness of the Asheville Altitude post players with early fouls, and cruise to the 98-88 win at the Asheville Civic Center.

Roanoke shooting guard Matt Carroll led six Dazzle players in double-figures with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. James Thomas added 16 points and eight rebounds.

Altitude (15-11) guard Joe Forte finished with a game and career-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor. Ron Slay added a game-high nine rebounds to go with 21 points.

Asheville played with only eight players due to the loss of point guard Brandin Knight (broken leg) and forward Antonio Meeking (bought out NBDL contract to play overseas).

All three of the Altitude post players, Slay, Cedric Suitt and Tony Kitchings, had at least five fouls each with eight minutes to play.

"Fouls really hurt us tonight," said Altitude head coach Joey Meyer. "And with us having only eight players, we haven't been able to get a good 5-on-5 going in practice. So with us doing 3-on-3 drills, I think guys are starting to play as individuals and not as teammates. But once we get a few bodies in here, we should be able to put together some decent practices and get a little bit more in sync on the offensive end of the floor."

After playing against a double-digit deficit for most of the second half, the Altitude put together a solid fourth quarter run to cut the deficit to six points (81-75) with a little less than eight minutes to play. But Roanoke used a 12-4 run over the next four minutes of the game to push its lead back to a comfortable 14 points.

Thomas was huge for the Dazzle in the final quarter scoring eight of his 16 points in the last six minutes of the game.

"I kept telling our guys that (Asheville) was not going to give up until the clock read double zero," said Roanoke head coach Kent Davison. "So when they put that run together in the fourth, it was important that we called a timeout, slowed things down and ran the offense and did the things that helped us to build the double-digit lead. We were able to do that and not let them put together another run."

Roanoke took full advantage of Asheville's lack of bodies scoring 50 points in the paint. The Dazzle also shot a red-hot 51.9 percent (41-of-79) from the field.

Neither team had the touch from the free throw line as they both finished shooting below 70 percent.

"We just want to get over that hump now," said Forte. "Guys are playing tough and trying to makeup the slack from the two players we're missing."

The Altitude will look to play a much more cohesive offensive game tonight as they travel to take on the Huntsville Flight at 7 p.m. Roanoke will play at Fayetteville Saturday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

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