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Riverdragons 80, Dazzle 76

Columbus Discovers Victory Over Roanoke


COLUMBUS, Ga., Nov. 26 -- The Columbus Riverdragons (3-2), inspired in the third quarter by its best 10 minutes of basketball this season, defeated the Roanoke Dazzle (3-2) 80-76 Monday in front of 1,024 fans at the Columbus Civic Center.

The Riverdragons outscored the Dazzle 28-19 in the third quarter, erasing a nine-point deficit to lead by five at the end of the quarter.

"In the third quarter we finally had a sense of urgency that we shouldn't lose three straight at home," said forward Gabe Muoneke. "This win I think is more indicative of what kind of team we are."

The victory snapped a two-game home losing streak for the Riverdragons. The loss was the first in team history for the Dazzle

For the third time in four games, the Riverdragons were led in scoring by Tremaine Fowlkes, who scored 20 points while hitting on 10 of 11 free throws. Muoneke had 19 points, hitting 8 of 13 shots from the floor.

Fowlkes also mixed it up with the Dazzle's two seven-footers, Lorenzo Coleman and Thomas Hamilton, pulling down a season-high 12-rebounds. The performance by Fowlkes marks the first double-double in Riverdragons history.

Fowlkes is also the first Riverdragon to score more than 20 points in a single game, which he did for the first time in team history against North Charleston on Nov. 21 at the Civic Center.

The Dazzle were led by former Alabama guard Artie Griffin, who scored a team-record 24 points, connecting on nine of his 18 shots from the floor, including 3-for-8 from three-point territory.

The Dazzle's 7-foot duo made solid contributions but did not dominate the Riverdragons' undersized frontcourt. Hamilton (7-2) had a game-high 14 rebounds, along with eight points. Coleman (7-0) scored eight of his 17 points in the first quarter but was the hampered most of the game in foul trouble.

Riverdragons head coach Jeff Malone, who has been critical lately of his big men, was pleased with Monday night's outcome.

"I challenged the bigs this morning to box out Roanoke's big guys," Malone said. "Ours big did a good job. The Dazzle's bigs are not great passers out of the post; they have deficiencies in their game, but they are real big. You have got to give our bigs credit. It's the kind of effort I expect out of them every night."

The Riverdragons will take three days off before making its first trip to Huntsville on Friday, Nov. 30, to face the Flight for the third time this season.

Notes

  • Fowlkes has scored 20 or more points in three of his last four games.

  • The Riverdragons arguably played their best quarter of the season in the third period, going on a 9-0 run at 47-44 (5:02) to take a six-point lead at 53-47 (1:22). The Riverdragons had four different players (Muoneke, Fowlkes, Garner, and Poole) score in the run.

  • Rdragons' Stais Boseman has hit a three-pointer in each of his last three games, and in four of the first five games of the season. Boseman entered Monday night's game ranked second in three-point field goal percentage at 56.3 percent.

  • Hamilton and Coleman combined for 10 of the Dazzle's 20 points and five of the team's nine rebounds in the first quarter.

  • Coleman scored eight points in nine minutes in the first quarter but did not play at all in the second quarter with two fouls.

  • Coleman weighs in at 300 pounds and Hamilton weighs 340 pounds. Combined, Coleman and Hamilton weigh forty pounds more than three of the Riverdragons' five starters, including Fowlkes (220 lbs), Chris Garner (160 lbs) and Nate Johnson (220 lbs).

  • The Riverdragons have yet to have a game decided by more than seven points. The greatest margin of victory this season was a seven-point 86-79 loss to North Charleston (Nov. 21).

    Riverdragons quotes

    Head Coach Jeff Malone
    "This is a big win for us, no question about it. I challenged the bigs this morning to box out Roanoke's big guys. Our bigs did a good job. The Dazzle's bigs are not great passers out of the post; they have deficiencies in their game, but they are real big. You have got to give our bigs credit. It's the kind of effort I expect out of them every night.

    Forward Gabe Muoneke "I think it gives the team an idea of how we need to play to win. In the third quarter we finally had a sense of urgency that we shouldn't lose three straight at home. This win I think is more indicative of what kind of team we are."

    Dazzle quotes

    Head Coach Kent Davison
    "We went through a drought in the third and fourth quarter and Columbus took advantage. Its their home court and that's what you expect. It's a long season and we have 51 games to go. We had our chance at the end and it wasn't our turn. We will try to do better next time. I thought that Moueneke played well for Columbus and fired them up with his moves around the basket."

    Guard Artie Griffin
    "I didn't hit enough for us to win and that's what matters. I had my shot and we took it to the basket, but we didn't score when we had the chance. We had the chance to win but couldn't finish."

    Center Lorenzo Coleman
    "We hit that drought in the third period when we had only two starters on the floor and Columbus caught up. They got the momentum and we couldn't get it back. Moueneke did a good job of going to the basket. We have now played five games in seven days and it may have caught up with us. I also thought that Artie played well for us all night."