Dragons continue to hold Patriots back
Published on March 18, 2004 under NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
Columbus Riverdragons coach Jeff Malone still thinks his team has a chance to sneak into the Delta Air Lines Postseason Tournament. Until that happens, he figures he and his Riverdragons team might as well make it difficult for the five teams ahead of them.
On Thursday, that team was the Fayetteville Patriots. Jeff Myers scored 27 points on 9-for-15 shooting to lead the Riverdragons to a 107-105 win at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville. The Riverdragons' three-game winning streak comes after they lost eight of the previous nine to Fayetteville.
Junie Sanders led the Patriots with a career-high 33 points on 12-for-17 shooting. Jason Capel added 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
"We still got a chance for the playoffs, but we're going probably going to end up playing spoiler for the rest of the season,'' said Malone. "We want to end this season on the right note. I feel comfortable saying we can beat anybody. I think if we had this group all year, we could have done some things this year."
The Patriots shot 49 percent in the first half and led 50-41 at the half. But the Patriots shot just 35 percent in the third quarter, while the Riverdragons hit 55 percent of their shots to take a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter. Columbus resumed its hot shooting four minutes into the fourth quarter.
Up by three, 79-76, with 7:46 remaining in the game, the Riverdragons hit five of their next six shots over the next 3 ½ minutes to take a 94-83 lead with 4:04 remaining. The Riverdragons held on their double-digit advantage until the 1:16 mark.
The Patriots would then rally to within three, 105-102, on a Junie Sanders 3-pointer with 39.4 seconds remaining. A Terence Morris free throw put the Riverdragons up four. Sanders would again score on a driving layup off of a feed from Capel. He was fouled on the play and completed the three-point play to the Patriots down one, 106-105 with 22.8 seconds remaining.
The Patriots had a chance to win the game, but Kenny Satterfield's fade away jumper fell short, clinching the win for the Riverdragons (14-24). The Patriots fell to 17-20 and a game-and-half out of the final playoff spot.
"We've got nine games left,'' Patriots coach Jeff Capel said. "We can dwell on this. We've got to get back on our horse. They're all critical at this point. We're chasing Huntsville and we've got to catch them."
NBA G League Stories from March 18, 2004
- Dragons continue to hold Patriots back - Fayetteville Patriots
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