New Sheriff in Town
December 23, 2002 - NBA G League (G League) News Release
Move over Huntsville and Greenville, there's a new leader in the National Basketball Development League standings. On the heels of a six-game winning streak, the Fayetteville Patriots have climbed into first place in the NBDL standings. The Patriots are 9-6 and one-half game ahead of the Flight and Groove.
Doing it on the Road
Fayetteville has climbed its way to the top of the standings the hard way, by winning on the road. The Patriots are playing .500 basketball (4-4) at the Cumberland Crown Center, but have won five of seven games on the road.
This week's NBDL schedule.
Day Date Teams Local Time
Monday Dec. 23, 2002 Mobile at Roanoke 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday Dec. 24, 2002 Huntsville at Columbus 2:00 p.m.
Thursday Dec. 26, 2002 Roanoke at Greenville 7:00 p.m.
Friday Dec. 27, 2002 Asheville at Fayetteville 7:30 p.m.
Friday Dec. 27, 2002 Mobile at Huntsville 7:30 p.m.
Saturday Dec. 28, 2002 Fayetteville at North Charleston 7:00 p.m.
Saturday Dec. 28, 2002 Roanoke at Huntsville 7:30 p.m.
Saturday Dec. 28, 2002 Columbus at Mobile 7:30 p.m.
Sunday Dec. 29, 2002 Roanoke at Columbus 6:00 p.m.
Sunday Dec. 29, 2002 Asheville at Greenville 7:00 p.m.
Two Scoops of Tang
Columbus forward Tang Hamilton is on pace to shatter the NBDL record for double-doubles in a season. The Mississippi State product recorded his fourth consecutive, and eighth overall, double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds in the Riverdragons' 93-81 win over Greenville Sunday. Hamilton is on pace to record 30 double-doubles this season. The NBDL record is 13, set by Derek Hood of Mobile last season.
Free Basketball
North Charleston fans have been getting their money's worth and more this season. North Charleston has already played four overtime games this year. The Lowgators, 9-8 overall, are 3-1 in games going to extra periods.
Level Scoop of Dragons
Talk about playing it right down the middle. Going into a Christmas Eve contest at home against Huntsville, the Columbus Riverdragons are .500 across the board. The 'Dragons are 7-7 overall, 3-3 at home and 4-4 on the road.
On TV This Week
The Columbus and Greenville game from Dec. 21 will air today (Dec. 23) at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 and Tuesday at noon on NBA TV.
Who's Hot?
¨ North Charleston's Corey Benjamin has averaged 21.5 points over the last two games.
¨ Benjamin's teammate, Damone Brown, is averaging 20 ppg over that same span.
¨ Columbus' Tang Hamilton averaged 12.5 rebounds in two games last week.
¨ Fayetteville's Omar Cook recorded eight steals in his last two games.
¨ Mobile's Shea Seals converted seven of his last 11 three point attempts.
Record Crowd
Not only did the Fayetteville Patriots win their sixth consecutive game Saturday, but did so in NBDL record fashion by drawing 4,655 fans to the Cumberland Crown Center.
Scoring and Rebounding Leaders
Following are the scoring and rebounding leaders for each of the eight NBDL teams as of December 23, 2002.
Can I Help You?
The Columbus Riverdragons tied the NBDL team record for assists in a game with 28 Sunday against Greenville. Fayetteville, Asheville and Greenville also share the record with 28-assists games last season.
Earlier Celebration
The Huntsville Flight and Fayetteville Patriots will be celebrating the New Year a little earlier than originally planned. Instead of playing as the New Year rolls in at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, the game will now start at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be aired by ESPN2 on Jan. 2 at 3 p..m. ET.
NBA G League Stories from December 23, 2002
- Columbus, Huntsville Complete Swap - G League
- New Sheriff in Town - G League
- Groove Acquires Soumaila Samake - Greenville Groove
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.
