Dazzle Victorious in Double-Overtime Thriller

“This was huge,” Roanoke Coach Kent Davison said. “If we don’t get this one, going on the road to play five in-a-row, who knows what happens?

“Hey, we made it exciting. Earl’s basket was the biggest we had. We stunk the place up in the second quarter (nine points), but we played well in the second half. Fayetteville came in here and battled us, and we showed a lot, too, hanging in there and coming back to win. It just took us a while. Really, we were lucky just to get to the first overtime.

“We finally made some plays, and we quit turning the ball over (only seven in the final 30 minutes, after 11 in the first 20 minutes). Still, we could have made it easier on ourselves. We didn’t finish well again, far too many times. We’ve got to finish strong when we get the ball down underneath.”

Fayetteville (0-4) led 41-28 at halftime, and guards Terrell McIntyre (17 points) and Rasul Salahuddin (24 off the Patriots’ bench) were making it difficult for the Dazzle. The Patriots were shooting 50 percent and had only six turnovers, and Coach Tiny Archibald’s club appeared on its way to its first victory.

“We had the advantage, but we let them back in the game,” Archibald said. “It was key turnovers and key possessions that seemed to be the turning point of the game. We haven’t played a 40-minute game since we started. We’re just trying to muster up a win. It’s not an easy situation when you’re talking about losing.”

Roanoke rallied in a thriller before 2,928 fans, however, behind the play of 7-foot-2 Thomas Hamilton, who had his second straight double-double (19 points, 16 rebounds), and guard Artie Griffin, who scored a Roanoke season-high 21 points.

The Dazzle led 70-68 in the final minute of regulation time when Darryl Johns hit a 19-foot jumper with 18 seconds remaining to the tie score. After Jeff Aubry’s block of a Marshall Phillips’ shot got the ball back for the Patriots, McIntyre’s three-pointer that would have won the game was ruled as coming just after the buzzer.

Griffin had all six of Roanoke’s points in the first OT, while Salahuddin and McIntrye provided all of the Patriots’ points. In the second overtime, Salahuddin started Fayetteville with a three-pointer for an 83-82 edge, and Skip Youngblood made the second of a two-shot free-throw chance with 1:09 to go for a tie at 83.

Fayetteville’s Johns missed a runner, and Hamilton grabbed the rebound. On Roanoke’s possession, Griffin penetrated from the left wing, then kicked the ball back to Earl at the top of the arc. His deep, 27-footer made it 86-83. Fayetteville made two free throws on separate trips to the line, and had two more possessions, but couldn’t hit a field goal.

“We were scrambling a little more in the second half and made it a game,” Earl said. “We came out and didn’t play very well, and I can’t put my finger on why, but Fayetteville was tough. They were hitting jump shots, and we finally got going just in time.

“Artie was just trying to get to the hole, or draw the foul,” Earl added about his decisive 3-pointer. “He did a good job penetrating and drawing my man with him, and then kicked it out to me. It felt good to make one, and one that meant so much, too.”

“It was a tough loss for us,’ McIntyre said. “We just didn’t make the play when we had to, when we needed it.”

Asked whether he thought his waved-off three-pointer at the end of regulation beat the buzzer, the former Clemson guard said, “It was hard to tell. I don’t know.”

Roanoke hits the road Saturday and begins its five-game road trip with a Sunday afternoon game at Asheville. The Patriots play Greenville at the Crown Coliseum on Saturday night