Groove Stave Off Patriots

This is the fifth time these two teams have met this season. During the last matchup, the Groove beat the Patriots in Greenville 67-54. The Groove leads the series 4-1.

Friday's win against the Patriots put the Groove at 8-10 while the Patriots fell to 5-12. The next home game for the Patriots is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 4, when they will again face the Groove.

"In the third quarter, the team played tough," said Patriots coach Nate "Tiny" Archibald. "If we would have had the same energy in the first half like we did in the third quarter, the outcome would be different."

During first-quarter action, the Patriots started off energized, but grew cold at the 4:54 mark as missed layups became an issue for the team. The Patriots converted only four points in the paint to the Groove's 18. Groove center Eric Chenowith had two slam dunks and was the Groove's high scorer for the quarter with eight points. The Patriots reserve Antwain Smith was the Patriots high scorer with four points. The Groove led the Patriots at the end of the first quarter 23-14.

The Groove were still in control during the second quarter as the Patriots continued to struggle to establish themselves on the floor. The Groove outshot the Patriots 54 to 39 percent from the field. The Groove's Kenny Gregory came alive with nine points and was 4-of-5 from the field. The Patriots' Smith got an additional six buckets to add to his four in the first quarter. The Groove led at the end of the half 50-35.

Down by as much as 19, the Patriots come back was sparked by John Strickland shortly after the seven-minute mark when he hit two layups on back-to-back Patriots possessions. The Groove attempted to maintain the lead by attempting two three-pointers late in the third quarter, but both failed to fall. The substitution of Ron Kelley brought the Patriots alive at the 4½-minute mark. Kelley scored eight points on three second chance layups and grabbed three key rebounds to bring the Patriots within three 69-66.

"We did not come with the effort we needed to win ballgames, and it showed in the first half," said the Patriots' Terrell McIntyre.

After outscoring the Groove in the third quarter by 12 points, the Patriots were unable to maintain the momentum going into the fourth despite strong bench play by Curtis Haywood, who contributed six points and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line after nine minutes of play.

The majority of the scoring in the fourth quarter by the Groove came from three of the starters, Jeff Myers with six, Chenowith with six and Billy Thomas with five. The Groove were able to hold off the Patriots' late resurgence with two key steals, one by Rahim Lockhart with one minute left on the clock and a second steal by DeeAndre Hulett with 32.1 seconds left. The Groove clinched the win 90-84.

"Tonight, we were playing without our top scorer, Ansu Sesay," said Groove coach Milton Barnes. "We had to have some of the other guys pick it up and hit key shots for us."

Five Patriots players were in double figures to include McIntyre with 20, Smith, 14, Strickland and Greg Stempin grabbed 12 a piece and Kelley followed with 10. The Groove also had five players in double figures, Chenowith led with 17 followed by Hulett, 14, Gregory and Thomas both with 13, and Myers followed with 14.