Patriots fall behind early, drop 8th straight
December 30, 2005 - NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Fayetteville Patriots allowed the Florida Flame to score the six of the first seven points of the game, and were never able to recover as the Flame took a 109-95 win in NBA D-League action at the Crown Coliseum Friday night. The loss was Fayetteville's eighth in a row, leaving the Patriots at 2-10. Florida improves to a league-leading 9-3. "Tonight was disappointing because we didn't play hard until the second half," said Patriots head coach Mike Brown. "All season we've been a team that starts strong and has trouble finishing, but not tonight. But that's the way it is. You think you have one thing covered and another problem opens up." Bracey Wright was the main spark for the Flame, scoring 10 points in the first period as Florida opened up a 26-15 lead. By halftime, center Theron Smith had 16, most of them coming in the form of free throws and layups, and the Flame were up by 29 at the break. "We're normally a very good defensive team, but tonight we didn't play good team defense at all," Brown said. "We let Florida get a lot of open looks and we gave them a lot of turnovers. We're smarter than that. We usually like to keep teams at around 14-16 turnovers a game. Tonight, we had that in the first half alone." The Patriots settled down and played nearly even ball in the third. Then Erik Daniels poured in 15 points in the final period and Rod Riley scored five in the final two minutes as part of a frantic 14-6 run at the end. "The pro game is a game of runs," Brown said. "Teams will have runs, but you have to sustain them and you'll have your runs. Tonight it was just too much to try to come back from. The good thing is we play again tomorrow night so they have a quick chance to redeem themselves." Daniels finished with 31 to lead all scorers. Kaniel Dickens added 13 while Rod Riley scored 12. Smith's 26 paced the Flame. Wright had 21 and Andre Barrett score 14. The teams play again at the Crown Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 31. The D-League offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA's umbrella. Thirty-four (34) players have been called up to the NBA on 50 separate occasions. Ten (10) former D-League coaches, five athletic trainers, 11 referees and 30 front office executives have also been called up since the start of the league's inaugural season in November of 2001.and Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the league also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. The D-League is a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 30 teams and is a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions. For more information on the Patriots or the NBA D-League, visit fayettevillepatriots.com or call (910) 213-1005.
• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...
NBA G League Stories from December 30, 2005
- Patriots fall behind early, drop 8th straight - Fayetteville Patriots
- RimRockers defeat Flyers - Arkansas RimRockers
- Dazzle Starters Shine in 113-102 Victory Over Thunderbirds - Roanoke Dazzle
- Arkansas Acquires Walsh, Waives Thomas - Arkansas RimRockers
- Tulsa Acquires Guard Marcus Taylor - Tulsa 66ers
- Fayetteville signs former Wildcat Hawkins - Fayetteville Patriots
- NBA D-League Daily Developments - G League
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.
