Flight Soar Back for OT Win

The victory was the first in four games for the Flight. The Riverdragons lost for the second time in three games at home.

The Flight were once again led late in the game by Jimmie Hunter, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Forward Kelvin Price also had 20 points for the Flight, hitting 8-of-13 shots from the floor.

For the second time in the last three games, the Riverdragons were led in scoring by Tremaine Folwkes, who had 21 points in his first start at the Columbus Civic Center this season. Fowlkes also tied for the team lead in rebounds with Nate Johnson, each had nine.

Johnson and fellow guard Chris Garner each pitched in 14 points. The performance was a break through for Garner, who reached double figures in points for the first time this season and also had a season-best five assists.

According to head coach Jeff Malone, the Riverdragons' lineup could be in store for some changes.

"It's a tough loss," said Malone. "We are going to have make some changes. We need some bigs, some tough bigs. Shelley Clark has come in here and dominated us both times. I'm tired of watching that. There's no sense of urgency here. We have to create that."

Clark led the Flight in rebounds with nine along with Kelvin Price. Clark had 18 rebounds in the team's first meeting back on Nov. 18, a 85-82 overtime win by Columbus.

This is the second time in as many meetings that the Flight and Riverdragons have gone to overtime. The two teams meet again Friday, Nov. 30 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. The meeting will be the teams' third in six games against each other.

The Riverdragons next game is this Monday, Nov. 26 against the Roanoke Dazzle at the Columbus Civic Center. The meeting will be the first between the Dazzle and the Riverdragons.

Notes: The Flight shot 48.7 percent (37-76) from the floor, a stark contrast to the 30.7 percent (27-88) Huntsville fired in the Riverdragons 85-82 OT win on Nov. 18 ... The Riverdragons trailed for the first time at the half in four games this season, falling behind to the Flight 43-36 after two quarters ... The Riverdragons went on a 12-0 run ending at 3:30 of the third quarter to tie the score at 48-48, erasing that seven-point halftime deficit ... Garner hit a three-pointer as time expired on the 24-second shot clock to give the Riverdragons a 79-73 lead with 2:15 to play in the fourth quarter ... Garner snapped out of his scoring slump in the first quarter, hitting 3-of-8 shots for six points, making as many field goals (three) in the quarter as he has in the first three games ... Tremaine Fowlkes made his start at the Columbus Civic Center, scoring nine of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter. Fowlkes made his first start of the season at forward Friday night at Mobile.

Riverdragons

Chris Garner: I tried to play hard and with a sense of urgency. Coach Malone has told me I had to step it up and I felt I did in the first half. Being able to knock down a couple of shots helped our inside game. I feel we need to execute better on offense in the fourth quarter and rebound and concentrate better defensively.

Flight

Head coach Bob Thornton: This was a team win, not an individual one. I told our forwards not to settle for jump shots in the overtime. They were working hard to stop our guards and I told our front men to drive to the basket. That isolated Terrance Roberson and he stepped up big.