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Patriots Comeback Stifles Dragons, 90-86

December 3, 2003 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga.—Down by 14 points in the first half and trailing 55-49 at the halftime break, the Fayetteville Patriots used a strong second half defensive performance to hand the Columbus Riverdragons their fourth straight loss to open the 2003-04 NBDL season, 90-86, at the Columbus Civic Center. With the win, Fayetteville notched its second straight victory to improve to 2-2, while the Riverdragons dropped to 0-4 overall.

Jason Collier helped to spearhead the Patriots come-from-behind effort, tallying a double- double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while rookie Kent Williams poured in a team-high 21 points, including 10 straight in a second quarter run that brought Fayetteville within six at the half. The Patriots outscored the Dragons 41-31 in the final 24 minutes to earn the win.

Columbus, which entered the game next to last in the NBDL in scoring, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage, caught fire offensively in the first quarter paced by the play of small forward Erron Maxey, who registered 18 points in the quarter to propel the Dragons to a 31-26 lead after one period.

The Patriots would put the defensive clamps on Maxey in the second quarter, but Columbus continued to thrive offensively, as the Dragons ended the half shooting 53% to up their advantage to 55-49 at the break.

Two rookies, Williams and newly signed forward Britton Johnson, ignited the Patriots in the third quarter, as Williams connected on three treys whileJohnson tallied six points in the period to pull Fayetteville within one, 74-73, heading into the fourth.

Collier then took over inside in the final quarter, tallying 6 points and 6 rebounds in the stanza as the Patriots used a stifling defense to outscore Columbus, 16-13, giving Fayetteville its second win of the campaign. Maxey finished with a game-high 24 points in the loss for the Riverdragons.

Columbus begins a five-game, twelve-day road trip starting this Friday, December 5, as the Riverdragons travel to take on Fayetteville in a return matchup at the Crown Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.. Columbus returns home to the Civic Center on December 15th , hosting the Patriots at 7:00 p.m.

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