McIntyre Gets the Scoop on Asheville
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Dec. 1 -- Terrell McIntyre's scoop shot with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Fayetteville Patriots to an 82-80 win over the Asheville Altitude on Saturday night at the Crown Coliseum.
The win is the second at home for the Patriots, who avenged Thursday's 93-73 loss in Asheville. With the win, the Patriots improved to 2-7 on the season while the Altitude dropped to 3-4.
"I thought our guys came out with a lot more intensity this time," said Patriots head coach Nate Archibald. "In Asheville, we didn't execute and they ran us out of the building, but tonight, we turned the tables and were able to make plays down the stretch."
Fayetteville, which led by as many as 18 points through three quarters, was led in scoring by newly acquired John Strickland. The 6-8 forward scored 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with his eight rebounds.
"John played a big game for us tonight," said Archibald. "When you have a guy who can score inside, it only opens up things for your perimeter players and I think that was the difference in the game we played in Asheville on Thursday."
With 8:44 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Patriots leading by 11 points, the Altitude went on an 8-0 run to cut the Fayetteville deficit to three points. The lead swayed back and forth between three and four points, before the Altitude stormed back to take a 80-78 lead with 41 seconds remaining in the quarter following a pair of Jermaine Tate free throws.
Following the Tate free throws, Patriots forward Greg Stempin made a layup to tie the score at 80-80 with 23 seconds remaining. Asheville was unable to convert on its next possession, setting the stage for McIntyre's shot to win the game.
"We dug ourselves too big of a hole at the start," said Altitude head coach Joey Meyer. "Fayetteville played tough, but I thought we had a chance to win, after battling back from 18 (points) down. The guy (McIntyre) made an off-balance shot to win it."
McIntyre ended the night with 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including one three-pointer and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. He also dished out five assists. Stempin added 17 points to round out the Patriots double-figure scorers.
Asheville was led in scoring by Jimmy King and Jason Hart with 14 points apiece, followed by Paul Grant and Anthony Blakes with 10 points each in a losing effort.
Both teams will be in action again on Monday, Dec. 3, as the Patriots will travel to Greenville (S.C.) to take on the Greenville Groove, while the Altitude will take on the Columbus Riverdragons in Georgia.
