Rodney Shows Riverdragons No Respect

January 4, 2003 - NBA G League (G League)
Columbus Riverdragons News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga., (Jan. 4, 2003) – Power forward Rodney Bias scored 16 points and pulled down a league record tying 20 rebounds to lead the Huntsville Flight past the Columbus Riverdragons, 75-68, Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center in NBDL action.

"That's what Rodney does," said Flight head coach Ralph Lewis. "He gets rebounds and blocks shots. He did that in college and now he's doing it here at this level. It's no secret. He just has an instinct for the ball - like Tang Hamilton. It' s not something you teach, they just have an instinct for the basketball."

Bias tied Kareem Poole and Makhtar N'Diaye for the NBDL's top rebounding performance in the league's short history. Poole, currently with the Roanoke Dazzle, pulled down 20 boards for the Riverdragons Jan. 8, 2002 against Fayetteville. N'Diaye became the first player in league history to grab 20 rebounds Feb. 16, 2002 against the Mobile Revelers.

Bias also had nine offensive rebounds, one shy of the league mark set by another Riverdragon - current Los Angeles Clipper Tremaine Fowlkes. Fowlkes had 10 offensive boards Nov. 26, 2002 against Roanoke.

The Flight led by as many as 11 points, going ahead 48-37 on two free throws by Bacari Hendrix with 6:52 to play in the third quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, however, the Riverdragons went on a 7-0 run to pull within 1, following a steal by Nate Green who fed Tang Hamilton for the fast break slam with 3:00 to play in regulation. The Flight responded by nailing four of five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Tang Hamilton, the NBDL's Player of the Month for December 2002, had 13 points and 14 rebounds for Columbus to post his league-high 11th double-double in the loss.

Playing the second of back-to-back games on the road, the Flight jumped out to a nine point lead, 19-10, on a lay-up by Bias with 2:52 to play in the first quarter. The Riverdragons Nate Johnson responded, scoring 8 of his game-high 18 points in the second quarter to pull Columbus within three, 40-37, at the half.

Johnson, the league's leading scorer, struggled at times from the floor, hitting 7-of-26 FGA's – the attempts setting a new Columbus team record for shots taken in a game.

The Flight (13-9) have won four of five meetings with the Riverdragons this season, including three straight in Columbus. The Riverdragons will not have to wait long to get another shot at their rival. Columbus faces Huntsville Tuesday night at the Von Braun Center for the teams' sixth meeting of the season.



NBA G League Stories from January 4, 2003


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