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Dragons Survive Late Asheville Push For Seventh Straight Win

December 23, 2004 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga.— Reed Rawlings poured in a game-high 21 points, including 19 in the second half and overtime, as the Columbus Riverdragons held on for an 82-81 win over the Asheville Altitude at the Columbus Civic Center on Thursday night.

With Asheville down by one and the clock running down in the extra session, Brandin Knight misfired on a fade-away jumper with four seconds remaining and Ron SlayÂ’s put-back following a disputed no-call, missed as time expired, handing Columbus (9-1) its franchise record seventh straight victory and sixth straight victory at home. The loss snapped the AltitudeÂ’s four-game win streak and dropped Asheville (8-5) two and a half games behind Columbus for the top spot in the NBDL standings.

The Altitude opened the game on a 17-8 run led by eight points from Antonio Meeking over the first 6:08 of the contest. But Columbus pulled even with a 12-3 run over the next 4:15. Obinna Ekezie and Kit Rhymer both contributed four points in the run to tie the game at 20-20. Asheville would end the first quarter with lay-ins from Timmy Bowers and Ron Slay to claim a 24-22 lead after one.

After trading baskets with the Altitude in the first seven minutes of the second period, Columbus found its offensive rhythm late in the half. Down 34-33 with 4:08 to play, the Dragons ended the stanza on a 9-3 spurt to claim a five point lead at the break, 42-37. Ekezie led all scorers with 15 points in the first half, while Meeking led the Asheville cause with 10 points at the break.

Columbus opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to open up a 49-37 advantage with 10:02 to go. Rawlings began to heat up with a pair of lay-ups in the spurt as Columbus took a double-digit lead for the first time. After trading baskets with the Dragons over the final seven minutes of the period, Ron Slay began the Asheville comeback with a three-point jumper from the right corner to pull the Altitude within seven points, 60-53 heading into the fourth period.

Rick Rickert led the way with six points in an Asheville 10-1 run to open the fourth quarter and give the Altitude a 63-61 lead with 7:13 to play. The teams matched each other basket for basket down the stretch, with neither side taking more than a two point lead over the rest of regulation. RickertÂ’s lay-in with 2:13 left gave the Altitude a 73-71 lead, but Columbus answered as Rawlings knocked down a 23-footer with 55 seconds remaining to tie the score. Rawlings gave the Dragons a brief 75-73 lead on a lay-up with 34 seconds to play, but Lenny Stokes followed a Knight miss with a soaring, two-hand put back in the lane with 9.1 seconds remaining to knot the score again at 75 apiece. Columbus had one final chance in regulation, but Ekezie missed a lay-in with two seconds to play. The 6-9 veteran rebounded his own miss, but could not get his shot off in time to beat the horn and the game went to overtime.

Rawlings gave the Dragons a 80-77 advantage with 3:54 to go in the extra session on a 24-foot three-ball from the right win, but the Altitude answered back with consecutive baskets from Stokes and Kitchings to go back in front 81-80 with 2:25 remaining. The Dragons answered again on a Rawlings lay-up with 2:00 left and that would end the scoring for both squads. Columbus and Asheville misfired on their last three possessions each, and the Dragons would come away with the hard-fought win.

A total of three players scored in double figures for Columbus, as Ekezie continued his improved play with 19 points off the bench, and Ricky Minard notched 15 in the win. Asheville had four players score in double figures led by a team-high 16 points from Meeking and Slay. Stokes tallied 13 points and Bowers contributed 11 in the loss for the Altitude.

The Riverdragons return to action this Sunday, December 26 at the Columbus Civic Center against the Florida Flame at 4:00 p.m. EST. Asheville returns to action on January 1, with a 7:00 p.m. CST tip-off at Huntsville. For more information, log onto nbdl.com.

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