RimRockers lose second straight to Flyers

Published on January 22, 2006 under NBA G League (G League)
Arkansas RimRockers News Release


Little Rock, Arkansas January 22 - The Arkansas RimRockers (11-11) lost 106-107 in overtime to the Fort Worth Flyers (13-7). Rawle Marshall sunk the game winning free-throw for the Flyers, sealing their second straight victory at Alltel Arena.

The RimRockers played without the assistance of Matt Walsh and Brian Jackson was injured early and did not return to the ball game. The Flyers took the court without leading scorer Kelenna Azubuike, who had a sprained ankle. Despite the absence of prominent shooters, both benches came to the rescue, with Arkansas scoring 38 off the bench and Fort Worth scoring 29.

"I'm really proud of our guys despite of everything that happened this afternoon," Head Coach Joe Harge said. "Everyone played so hard today. We gave ourselves a chance to win; we just need to play smarter. We've got a lot to learn and work on."

The first quarter of play was sloppy by both teams. The RimRockers trailed the majority of the first quarter until a pair of free-throws by Kareem Reid tied the game. The RimRockers collected only two offensive rebounds which limited them to two second chance points and allowed the Flyers to score 5 breakaway points. The lack of shots taken and made prevented the RimRockers to keep up with the Flyers. At the end of the first quarter, the Flyers led 24-19.

James Lang, along with Marshall from the Flyers, led the game in scoring with 23 points a piece. Lang was the first half's leading scorer with 12 points, helping the RimRockers to take the lead going into the half. The Flyers gave up 29 points in the second quarter, allowing the RimRockers to improve their shooting average from 40 percent in the first quarter to 47.1 in the second. Led by Shawnson Johnson's 5 boards, the RimRockers outrebounded the Flyers 24-18.

"For the most part, I felt we attacked the basket better today. We had more inside looks that we took advantage of. Fort Worth just played smarter, and made the most of our fouls."

The RimRockers struggled in the third quarter, only capturing six rebounds while the Flyers held Lang to five points. The forth quarter was a battle for both teams, with neither competitor securing a safe lead. By the final buzzer, the score was tied 98-98. The RimRockers could not withstand the pressure applied by the Flyers in the final 5 minutes and watched as the Flyers walked away with a 1-point victory.



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