Patriots falter down stretch en route to fourth straight loss
December 11, 2005 - NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
The Fayetteville Patriots ran out of gas as an up-and-down game turned into a late sprint, and the Ft. Worth Flyers pulled out a 92-85 win in NBA D-League action Saturday night at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville. Ft. Worth's Brandon Robinson found his shot and scored eight of his 17 points during a four-minute, fourth-period spurt in which the Patriots were outscored, 15-4. It was the fourth loss in a row for the Patriots, who are 2-6. F t. Worth snapped a two-game skid to improve to 4-3.
The teams, playing for the third time this season, kept each other in check early on and traded the lead seven times in the first quarter. The Patriots pulled away and built a nine-point advantage in the second on the hot hand of Mark Karcher. But Ft. Worth point guard Vonteego Cummings responded with a couple of key steals and seven second-quarter points and the Flyers rallied to take a five-point lead into the break.
The two stayed side-by-side throughout the third and at one point Ft. Worth managed to move ahead by six. But Butta Johnson poured in 12 points in the third and Norm Richardson had 10 in the fourth and by the nine-minute mark, it was the Patriots who had staked a two-point lead. That's when Robinson and the Flyers took charge. Robinson entered the game and immediately scored on a dunk. He followed that with a dish to a wide-open Daryl Dorsey for a 3-pointer, hit back-to-back jump shots, hit a pair of free throws and capped it all with another dunk. At that point, Ft. Worth had put the game away holding an 11-point lead with just over two minutes remaining.
Johnson and Richardson led the way for Fayetteville with 16 points apiece. Erik Daniels added 14 and Roderick Riley had 13.
Ime Udoka had 17 for Ft. Worth, while Deji Akindele and Anthony Wilkins scored 14 each.
The Patriots return to action on Friday, Dec. 16 in Ft. Myers, when they kick off a five-game home-and-away series with the Florida Flame. They next play at the Crown Coliseum against the Flame on Thursday, Dec. 22.
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.
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.
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