Patriots Top Riverdragons

December 15, 2003 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga., Dec. 15 – Kent Williams season-high tying 21 points paced five double-figure scorers this evening in sparking the Fayetteville Patriots to a decisive 107-71 victory over the Columbus Riverdragons in a game played at the Columbus Civic Center. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Patriots (5-4) while Columbus (2-8) suffered its second consecutive setback.

Williams, who scored 21 points in an earlier visit to Columbus this year, sank seven-of-11 from the floor including all four of his three-point attempts. Junie Sanders chipped in a season-high tying 19 points while tying for team-high honors with Tarvis Williams with eight boards. Bryan Lucas finished with 16 points while Britton Johnsen and Darrell Johns rounded out the double-figure point producers with 10 points.

The second half was the telling difference of the game with the Patriots posting a 60-31 scoring advantage. After shooting 54.8 percent from the floor in the first half (17-of-31), the Riverdragons went ice cold over the final 24 minutes, connecting on just 15-of-46 (32.8 percent). Conversely, the Patriots knocked down 23-of-41 from the floor in the second half.

Holding a 47-40 edge at halftime, the Patriots rattled off a 12-2 run, culminated by a Lucas trey, over the first 5:30 of the third quarter to take a commanding 59-42 advantage. The third quarter ended with Fayetteville holding a 74-58 margin. Over the final 12 minutes of play, Fayetteville raced away with a 33-13 scoring margin. During the evening, Fayetteville converted on 81.8 percent from three-point range (9-of-11) compared to the Riverdragons' 20 percent (1-of-5).

"We didn't compete in the second half and let them get into a rhythm," stated Columbus Head Coach Jeff Malone "I thought we were past that. We just have to get better. Fayetteville was more aggressive and by far the better team tonight."

Center Kevin Lyde notched a team-high 14 points, sinking seven-of-nine from the floor for Columbus while Terence Morris posted his league-leading fourth double-double of the campaign with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Columbus gets back into action on Friday (Dec. 19) with a home game against Hunstville at the Columbus Civic Center at 7 p.m.



NBA G League Stories from December 15, 2003


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