Flight pound Patriots, 107-92
April 5, 2005 - NBA G League (G League)
Huntsville Flight News Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 5 â The Huntsville Flight outscored the Fayetteville Patriots 32-18 in the second quarter, and cruised to a 107-92 win in National Basketball Development League action at the Von Braun Center.
With the game tied 37-37 at the 5:43 mark of the second quarter, the Flight went on a 19-8 run to finish the half. The run was sparked by the bench play of point guard Antoine Pettway and shooting guard Ronald Blackshear. Pettway had nine points and two assists during the span, and Blackshear poured in 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Huntsville shot 59.1% (13-22) in the period, and held Fayetteville to 34.8% (8-23).
Despite having just eight players dressed for the game, the Patriots battled to cut a 19-point, fourth-quarter deficit to single digits in the final minutes. After a Blackshear jump shot put Huntsville ahead 93-74, Fayetteville went on an 18-6 run, capped by a Greg Davis steal and layup for a 99-92 score with 1:27 remaining. The Flight then stopped the run, as Kyle Davis jammed home an alley-oop from Bryant Matthews, and then converted a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 11.
The Flight moved from a third-place tie with Asheville to a second-place tie with Roanoke in the crowded NBDL standings. Huntsville and Roanoke are just 2.5 games behind league-leading Columbus. Huntsville rounds out the regular season with a Friday home game against the Dazzle, and a road game at Asheville Saturday night.
Fayetteville fell to 3-20 on the road, and finishes the season with a road game at Columbus on Thursday, followed by a home date with Florida on Saturday.
Fayetteville (16-30) started strong, jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the opening minutes behind the perimeter shooting of Omar Cook and Mike King. Huntsville (26-20) got things going behind six points from Austin Nichols, and finished the quarter down 27-24.
The Flight starters played the entire third quarter, outscoring the Patriots 27-21 during the period.
Pettway led the Flight with 19 points and five assists, and Blackshear finished with 14. Austin Nichols poured in 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and Earl Barron had 14 points and six rebounds. Rodney Bias had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Tang Hamilton led all scorers with 22 points, and Cook finished with 21 points and a game-high 11 assists for Fayetteville. King finished with 16 points.
NBA G League Stories from April 5, 2005
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