Johnson Drops 39 as Erie Downs Tulsa in OT, 98-96
March 5, 2011 - NBA G League (G League)
Erie BayHawks News Release
Erie, Pennsylvania - Erie's Ivan Johnson scored 39 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the BayHawks to a 98-96 overtime win versus the Tulsa 66ers, in front of a season-high home crowd of 5,236 fans on Saturday night.
Johnson, coming off the bench for the first time this season, played 43 minutes and capped off his night scoring five of Erie's eleven points in overtime. But it was Erie's Tasmin Mitchell that recorded the game's final two points as the buzzer sounded in overtime. Mitchell's 16-foot jump shot hit the rim and looked as if it could bounce in, however Tulsa's Elijah Millsap grabbed the rim and the ball bounced off as the buzzer sounded. After a short conference by the officials the play was ruled as goaltending and the BayHawks faithful erupted in cheers.
Tulsa led for much of the game and held a lead as large as 14 points with three minutes to play in the second quarter. But Erie finished the half with an 11-4 run to close the gap to 55-51 at the break. An even third frame kept the 66ers ahead by four entering the fourth.
As time ran down in regulation, guard Jermaine Beal had an opportunity to take the final shot but his attempt was blocked by Tulsa's Ryan Reid with four seconds on the clock. A quick scamper down the floor by Tulsa was unable to produce a shot and the teams headed to overtime.
The three-minute session was back-and-forth with Tulsa converting on all six of their free throw attempts and the BayHawks knocking down shots to stay even. Erie had the game's final possession out of a timeout with 23.5 seconds on the clock and held the ball until Mitchell fired the final shot.
Mitchell's final two points gave him 17 on the night and Garrett Temple added 20 for the home team as they improved to 25-13.
Tulsa was lead by Jerome Dyson's 21 points and also got double digit contributions from Latavious Williams (14), Larry Owens (14), Millsap (12) and Robert Vaden (10).
Erie will take on Springfield on Tuesday morning at 11:00 am for the third annual School Kids Jam game.
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