Scruggs Swings Good Fortune in Asheville's Favor
ASHEVILLE, N.C., Dec. 9 -- Lee Scruggs' three-pointer as time expired lifted the Asheville Altitude to a 96-94 victory over the Fayetteville Patriots on Sunday.
The Altitude, now 5-6 on the season, finally was able to celebrate last-second heroics instead of watching them.
"We had lost two of our last four games at the buzzer," said Altitude head coach Joey Meyer. "It was nice to finally see the game winning basket come from one of our guys."
Asheville, which trailed by 27 points with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter, seemed all but done until a 12-8 run, sparked by nine Scruggs points closed, the gap to 20 points at 82-62 at quarter's end. Asheville would outscore Fayetteville 34-12 in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.
"I thought our guys played hard the entire game and to comeback from 27 points down is just incredible," said Meyer.
With 3:32 left in the fourth quarter, Fayetteville looked to have survived Asheville's torrid comeback and extended the lead to 92-82, after the Altitude had cut the deficit to six points at 86-80. Altitude guard Jason Hart then took matters into his own hands and brought Asheville to within one point with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.
"Jason just played huge down the stretch and in the last 1:30 he just took over the game," said Meyer.
Hart scored nine straight points over the next 11 seconds, nailing consecutive three-pointers to close the gap to one, 94-93. Hart finished the game with a season- and team-high 27 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from the behind the arc.
"We just kept plugging away at their lead and my teammates gave me the ball in positions to score and fortunately for me, my shot was falling," said Hart.
Fayetteville was unable to convert on its next possession, setting the stage for the Scruggs three-pointer as time ran out.
"When the ball left my hand, I knew it was going in," said Scruggs, who scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half.
Asheville also got double-figure scoring off the bench from guard Rusty LaRue (19 points) and Sergio McClain (10 points).
Fayetteville had five players score in double figures, including John Strickland (26 points), Danny Johnson (18 points), Greg Stempin and Terrell McIntyre (15 points), and Darryl Johns (13 points).
The win gives the Altitude its second longest winning streak of the season at two games and extends the season series over the Patriots two games to one. Asheville and Fayetteville split the two previous encounters, with both teams winning on its home court. The loss drops Fayetteville to 2-10, 1-4 on the road.
