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Florida Flame Update

March 6, 2006 - NBA G League (G League)
Florida Flame News Release


Florida (20-15) rounds out its four-game homestand tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 7 versus the Fayetteville Patriots (8-24) with tip-off set for 7:05 p.m. ET at Gertmain Arena. The Flame will be celebrating their first annual "Faith and Family Night", which will feature a live halftime concert performance from Christian recording artist Kayla Powell. Tuesday's game can be heard live on Kingdom FM 91.5. For ticket information, visit the Germain Arena box office, log onto www.ticketmaster.com, or call Ticketmaster at 1-800-4-NBA-TIX.

Playing without its top three scorers, the Florida Flame had no answers against an improved Patriots club on Sunday night, as Fayetteville earned its second straight win with a 113-83 victory at Germain Arena.

The loss dropped the Flame into third place in the NBA Development League standings and sent Florida to its fifth straight defeat. Fayetteville tallied just its second win on the road this season and second in eight head-to-head meetings with the Flame.

Rick Rickert led six Patriots in double figures, posting a double-double with a team-high 17 points and game-high 14 rebounds. George Leach led the way for Florida with a game-high and personal season-high 19 points in defeat.

Following Tuesday night's contest, the Flame and Patriots head to Fayetteville for a pair of games this weekend at the Crown Coliseum. Fayetteville hosts Florida on Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET and Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Thursday night's contest will be broadcast live on Sportsradio 770 ESPN with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. ET. Saturday's game can be heard live on Kingdom FM 91.5 with the pre-game beginning at 7:15 p.m. ET.

Losing Skid Extended: Florida's current five-game losing streak is a season-high. The Flame's previous season-high losing streak was four games between Dec. 31 and Jan. 8.

By the Numbers: During the Flame's five-game losing streak, Florida has been outscored 98.8 to 86.2, outshot 46% (185-404) to 40.6% (158-389) from the field, and outrebounded 44.4 to 39.8 per game.

Leach Responding: Flame center George Leach has increased his production with increased playing time over the last six games. In that stretch, Leach is averaging 11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and shooting 63% FG (29-46) in the ast 6 contests. Leach posted a season-high 19 points with 8 rebounds and 5 blocks versus Fayetteville on March 5 and tied a Florida Flame record with six blocked shots versus Fort Worth on February 23. The 6-11, second-year pro out of Indiana also scored 18 points on 8-10 shooting w/ 6 rebounds against Albuquerque on February 9.

Barrett Call-Update: After earning a GATORADE Call-Up with Phoenix on March 1, Flame point guard Andre Barrett has appeared in one game so far for the Suns. Barrett played two minutes in a March 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Phoenix.

Drop In Production: Due to injuries and an NBA Call-Up, the Flame is currently playing without its top three scorers (Bracey Wright - 21.8 ppg, Andre Barrett - 17.0 ppg, Theron Smith - 14.8 ppg). Florida is averaging 98.2 points per game on the season, which means Jeff Malone has lost 53.6 points per game or 54.6% of his club's offensive production.

Not Quite the Bench Mark: Florida's reserves have been outscored by the opponent's bench in each of the last five games and in 23 of the Flame's 35 games this season. Over the last five contests Florida's bench has been outscored by an average of 46.0 to 23.8 points per game.

Missing The Wright Stuff: The Flame has dearly missed Bracey Wright in its last three games, all losses. The 6-3, guard on assignment from the Minnesota Timberwolves has not played because of a foot injury. In his last four games prior to the injury, Wright averaged 26.3 points per game and shot 53% from the field (34-64). In Florida's loss at Roanoke on Feb. 18, Wright tied a season-high with 33 points on 11-18 shooting from the floor, 3-of-6 from three-point range, and 11-18 from the foul line. The rookie out of Indiana University leads the club and is #3 in the D-League in scoring, averaging 21.8 points per game. Wright also leads the team and is #7 in the D-League in three-point field goal percentage (41.8%).

All-Time Wins Leader: Flame Head Coach Jeff Malone is the NBA Development League's all-time winningest coach, claiming a total of 122 regular season victories in his five-year D-League coaching career. Malone's 122-114 record in the NBA D-League places him seventh all-time in winning percentage (.517). Tulsa 66ers head man Joey Meyer is second all-time in wins, with 117 regular season victories.

Road Work: Following tomorrow night's game versus Fayetteville at Germain Arena, the Flame will close out the 2005-06 regular season with nine of its last 12 games on the road.



NBA G League Stories from March 6, 2006


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