Fayetteville jumps out early, snaps streak against Flame
Published on January 4, 2006 under NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., December 31 - The Fayetteville Patriots had six players score in double figures and rebounded from a sound drubbing by Florida to hand the Flame an equally solid beating, 119-97, in NBA D-League action at the Crown Coliseum Friday night. The loss ended Fayetteville's eight-game losing streak, the last of which had been a 14-point loss to Florida on Friday. The Patriots improve to 3-10. Florida drops to 9-4.
"Tonight, we played team defense from the beginning of the game," said Patriots head coach Mike Brown. "We put in 48 minutes, and we played hard and smart.
"I told the guys that last night was the last game of the first quarter of the season. The season is real long so you have to take it in clumps. And you have to be able to leave the bad things behind. Tonight we started a new quarter. We wanted to do that on a good note and what better way to do that than with the first-place team?"
Butta Johnson and Norm Richardson opened up hot, scoring 10 and nine first-quarter points respectively. After a 2-2 tie, the Patriots rolled to a nine-point lead barely five minutes into the game. The lead was at 13 by the end of the period and the Flame weren't able to cut it to below 10 again. With center Rod Riley scoring almost at will inside, and Richardson, Johnson and Mike King hitting the jump shots, Fayetteville stretched the lead to as many as 27 in the third.
"We were able to use our defense to create good scoring opportunities," Brown said. "When you get easy opportunities, guys get more confident and that makes that jump shot go down even easier. Our guys were challenged by what happened last night. Their pride was on the line."
Riley's 23 led the Patriots. Richardson added 21, King had 20 and Johnson had 19.
Florida's Andre Barrett led all scorers with 24, while Hiram Fuller added 15.
Fayetteville returns to action Friday night at home against the Roanoke Dazzle. Florida hosts Austin on Tuesday.
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.and
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.
NBA G League Stories from January 4, 2006
- Utah assigns Miles to Albuquerque - New Mexico Thunderbirds
- Patriots partner with Ministerial Council to honor King - Fayetteville Patriots
- Fayetteville jumps out early, snaps streak against Flame - Fayetteville Patriots
- Patriots sign former Oklahoma State standout - Fayetteville Patriots
- Flyers Ime Udoka Named NBA D-League Player of Month - G League
- Fort Worth Acquires Battle, Waives Wilkins - G League
- Fayetteville Acquires Sanders, Waives Karcher - Fayetteville Patriots
- NBA D-League Daily Developments - G League
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
