Hoops Fall to Lightning
January 11, 2003 - Continental Basketball Association 2 (CBA 2)
Grand Rapids Hoops News Release
Grand Rapids, Mich. â The Grand Rapids HOOPS were unable to hold onto a late fourth-quarter lead, and the Rockford Lightning rallied to take a 131-129 overtime victory at the DeltaPlex Arena.
The HOOPS held a six-point lead with just 26 minutes remaining, but a Grand Rapids turnover and a three-point basket by Rockford's Joe Crispin evened the score at 116-116 at the end of regulation. Crispin went on to score seven of his team-high 27 points in the extra frame to bring the victory home for the conference leaders.
Grand Rapids' (10-14) Larry Ayuso scored 37 points on 13-20 FG shooting, including seven three-pointers. Jerald Honeycutt added 27 points, while Eric Murdock registered 21 points and eight assists. Olden Polynice also had his strongest performance as a HOOP, scoring 14 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
Livan Pyfrom, who scored 12 points and hauled in 13 boards, controlled the first half as he helped Rockford build a 56-49 lead. Honeycutt, like many of the HOOPS, began the night cold, hitting on only 2-13 FG in the first two quarters.
After the half, Rockford (15-7) was unable to contain a red-hot Ayuso, as he registered 16 points on 6-7 FG shooting in the third quarter alone. After three, Grand Rapids had cut the lead to 82-81.
The fourth quarter began in Grand Rapids' favor, as they were able to overtake the Lightning, expanding the lead to 11 points at one point. Unfortunately for them, Crispin had only just begun. He hit on four three-pointers and scored 14 points in the stanza in leading Rockford back into the game.
The two teams combined to commit 62 turnovers on the night.
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