Greenville 70, Roanoke 63
Greenville Dazzles and Downs Roanoke in Preseason Opener
Roanoke Civic Center, November 10, 2001
ROANOKE, Va. – The Greenville Groove held Roanoke to five second-half field goals, and went inside when the Dazzle pulled its twin 7-footers to emerge with a 70-63 preseason victory at the Roanoke Civic Center in the National Basketball Development League debut for both teams Saturday night.
The Groove outscored the Dazzle 34-27 in the second half, while Roanoke committed 12 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. Tom Wideman and DeeAndre Hulett scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Greenville, while Rahim Lockhart and Ansu Sesay added 10 apiece.
The Groove limited the Dazzle to 30.2 percent shooting. Greenville was only 9-for-26 from the floor in the second hsalf, but that was good enough.
“I liked our effort,” Groove coach Milton Barnes said. “It wasn’t always pretty basketball, and it wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked, but it’s early in the year. We’re going to continue to get better and better if we keep working hard.
“We’ve got guys in this league that are capable of beating on you on any particular night. We just have to respect each other and every player. There was talent out there on both teams. It’s going to be a battle out there every game. I don’t know if any team has a real edge over any other, so, you have to give a great effort every night."
Roanoke coach Kent Davison started his 7-foot duo of Thomas Hamilton and Lorenzo Coleman, and the Dazzle won the backboards 27-21. However, the quicker Groove bolted past Roanoke with a strong third quarter, holding the Dazzle to only one field goal in the first nine minutes of the period.
“We really looked like a team that has practiced for four days,” Roanoke coach Kent Davison. “We came out with lots of energy, got up and down the floor, and then in the second half it looked like we just lost our legs. That’s the kind of thing I think is going to happen when you’re going two-a-days and then get into a preseason game.”
“There were some real positive things that happened in the game, and the good thing about it is that is there are a lot of things we can learn from this. Hey, that’s why you practice.”
“I thought defensively we did some nice things, and in the first half, especially, we rebounded the ball. We got it outleted, and we pushed it up and down the floor and that’s how you’ve got to play. We also got to the free throw line a lot of times early, and that’s going to be a key for us, especially with the size we have.”
However, the mobility of Wideman and Lockhart hurt the Dazzle, and in the third quarter, Greenville took the lead as guard Ricky moore was Roanoke’s only productive player. Former UCLA star JaRon Rush came off Roanoke’s bench to lead the Dazzle with 12 points, while Moore contributed 10.
“We were a little rusty early, but that was to be expected,” Wideman said. “As long as we play hard defensively, the shots will fall at the other end and we’ll become more fluid.”
Greenville’s Lockhart said the Dazzle came out with a lot of energy, but we settled down. The key was that we played hard the whole game. That’s what turned it in the end.”
Greenville plays its home NBDL preseason date Tuesday against Mobile. The Dazzle hits the road to Fayetteville for a Tuesday tipoff at 7 p.m.
ROANOKE, Va. – The Greenville Groove held Roanoke to five second-half field goals, and went inside when the Dazzle pulled its twin 7-footers to emerge with a 70-63 preseason victory at the Roanoke Civic Center in the National Basketball Development League debut for both teams Saturday night.
The Groove outscored the Dazzle 34-27 in the second half, while Roanoke committed 12 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. Tom Wideman and DeeAndre Hulett scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Greenville, while Rahim Lockhart and Ansu Sesay added 10 apiece.
The Groove limited the Dazzle to 30.2 percent shooting. Greenville was only 9-for-26 from the floor in the second hsalf, but that was good enough.
“I liked our effort,” Groove coach Milton Barnes said. “It wasn’t always pretty basketball, and it wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked, but it’s early in the year. We’re going to continue to get better and better if we keep working hard.
“We’ve got guys in this league that are capable of beating on you on any particular night. We just have to respect each other and every player. There was talent out there on both teams. It’s going to be a battle out there every game. I don’t know if any team has a real edge over any other, so, you have to give a great effort every night."
Roanoke coach Kent Davison started his 7-foot duo of Thomas Hamilton and Lorenzo Coleman, and the Dazzle won the backboards 27-21. However, the quicker Groove bolted past Roanoke with a strong third quarter, holding the Dazzle to only one field goal in the first nine minutes of the period.
“We really looked like a team that has practiced for four days,” Roanoke coach Kent Davison. “We came out with lots of energy, got up and down the floor, and then in the second half it looked like we just lost our legs. That’s the kind of thing I think is going to happen when you’re going two-a-days and then get into a preseason game.”
“There were some real positive things that happened in the game, and the good thing about it is that is there are a lot of things we can learn from this. Hey, that’s why you practice.”
“I thought defensively we did some nice things, and in the first half, especially, we rebounded the ball. We got it outleted, and we pushed it up and down the floor and that’s how you’ve got to play. We also got to the free throw line a lot of times early, and that’s going to be a key for us, especially with the size we have.”
However, the mobility of Wideman and Lockhart hurt the Dazzle, and in the third quarter, Greenville took the lead as guard Ricky moore was Roanoke’s only productive player. Former UCLA star JaRon Rush came off Roanoke’s bench to lead the Dazzle with 12 points, while Moore contributed 10.
“We were a little rusty early, but that was to be expected,” Wideman said. “As long as we play hard defensively, the shots will fall at the other end and we’ll become more fluid.”
Greenville’s Lockhart said the Dazzle came out with a lot of energy, but we settled down. The key was that we played hard the whole game. That’s what turned it in the end.”
Greenville plays its home NBDL preseason date Tuesday against Mobile. The Dazzle hits the road to Fayetteville for a Tuesday tipoff at 7 p.m.
