Patriots keep playoff hopes alive
April 3, 2004 - NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
The Fayetteville Patriots gave their fans something to look forward to next season, while keeping hope alive this season. In their 2003-2004 home finale, the Fayetteville Patriots defeated the Charleston Lowgators 96-92 in front of a record crowd of 5,654 at the Crown Coliseum.
The win moves the Patriots to within a half game behind Roanoke for the fourth and final playoff berth in the Delta Air Lines Postseason Tournament.
Ernest Brown led the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Bryan Lucas tied Tang Hamilton for the single-season record in double-doubles as he recorded his 18th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ime Udoka and player of the year Tierre Brown posted 22 points each. Udoka added 11 rebounds.
"This was a huge win for us,'' Patriots coach Jeff Capel said. "Hopefully we gave the fans something to look forward to next year. We didn't quit. Thankfully, they ran out of time because we were running out of gas."
The Patriots led by as many as 13 points in the second half. But the Lowgators would reduce the Patriots lead to three with three minutes remaining.
Tierre Brown gave the Lowgators their first lead since the first quarter on a jump shot. The Lowgators would be their lead to four before Cedric Henderson would hit a jump shot to shorten the lead and Brown hit key free throws down the stretch to give the Patriots the win.
The Patriots play the Dazzle on Friday in what could decide the final playoff spot. The Dazzle, losers of seven straight, will play Charleston tonight. If the Dazzle loses, the Patriots will move into a fourth-place tie with Fayetteville.
The Lowgators (24-19) meanwhile, slipped to a game-and-half behind the Asheville Altitude for the race to win the regular-season title. A Lowgators win tonight moves to within a game with two games remaining.
"We showed a lot of character tonight,'' Capel said. "They came in here fighting for first place and were able to hold them off. That shows me we're not ready to quit on this season."
NBA G League Stories from April 3, 2004
- Patriots keep playoff hopes alive - Fayetteville Patriots
- Penigar scores season high 42 points en route to overtime victory - Asheville Altitude
- NBDL daily developments - G League
- Tierre Brown of Charleston is NBDL MVP - G League
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