Sesay Sways Outcome in Groove's Favor

In a thriller at the Roanoke Civic Center, the Groove (7-9) ralled from a 12-point first-half deficit, then needed Sesay's last-gasp hoop after the Dazzle had erased a 10-point Greenville lead.

It was the second straight one-point home loss for the Dazzle (5-8), who fellt for the fifth time in six games. On Friday, Mobile won 66-65 on the Dazzle's floor when Roanoke guard Artie Griffin's last-second basket was ruled a two-pointer, rather than a three.

"This was different," Dazzle coach Kent Davison said. "This was much better than Friday night. At that's a pretty good Greenville team. They do some good things and they have some guys who can really shoot it, and they're athletic.

"For us, in the last two minutes, to erase a 10-point lead, have a one-point lead, and have it come down to the end says a lot for how we competed."

The Groove led 91-81 with 2:31 to play, going up double figures on Jeff Myers' layup. From that point, it appeared Roanoke's big man, Thomas Hamilton, could be a hometown hero. Following Griffin's jumper and a three-pointer by Andre McCollum, the 7-foot-2 Hamilton powered the Dazzle.

Hamilton's down-low bank shot with 32.9 seconds remaining cut the Groove lead to 91-90, but he missed the chance for a three-point play when his free throw bounced away. Roanoke got the ball back following a Greenville miss, and Tom Wideman fouled Hamilton.

The Dazzle center made both free throws to give Roanoke a 92-91 lead with 9.6 seconds left.

Following a timeout, Greenville worked the ball down low to Sesay. Where Hamilton got a deflection off Sesay's first move -- and the ball went right back into Sesay's hands. The former Ole Miss star converted for the game-winner.

"I was trying to pass it to somebody," said Sesay, who with 14 points was one of five Greenville double-figure scorers. "I just got it back and threw it up. I thought it was a turnover. I just got it back and threw it up as quick as I could."

Hamilton shrugged after his season-high 24-point effort.

"I did what I wanted to do; the ball just bounced into the wrong guy's hands," Hamilton said. "It was that, it went to the wrong guy, and missed free throws until the end."

Hamilton was 6 of 11 at the stripe. Roanoke shot 55.2 percent from the floor, made 8 of 17 from behind the arc, and had a Dazzle season-low 11 turnovers. However, Greenville's offensive efficiency was impressive. The Groove committed only seven turnovers, beat Roanoke on the offensive glass and shot 53.5 percent -- including a 62.9-percent, 50-point second half.

"I told the guys it's not over 'til it's over," said Groove coach Milton Barnes. "We'd seemed to be snake-bitten in the last few seconds of games. We finally came up on the winning end for a change. I thought we did a better job of making plays in the second half, and making all of their players earn their shots."

Billy Thomas scored 18 points, Eric Harris added 15 and Wideman had 13 points off the bench for Greenville. Roanoke had 19 points from Griffin and 18 from backup guard Andre McCollum.

"It's good to get a win like this," said Thomas, who had eight assists to go with his Groove-leading scoring. "This is the way we've been losing, the last seconds. We've been playing hard. Finally, we have something to show for it."