Riverdragons Edge Patriots
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Jan. 8 -- The Columbus Riverdragons snapped a three-game losing streak and recorded their first win of the new year, 72-69 Tuesday over the Fayetteville Patriots at the Crown Coliseum.
Columbus was led by Tremaine Fowlkes, who notched a game-high 20 points (5-22 FGA, 10-13 FTA) while Nate Johnson added 12 points (3-8 FGA, 6-8 FTA) off the bench. Kareem Poole hauled in an NBDL season-high 20 rebounds, breaking his own league record of 18. Chris Garner dished out a season-high nine assists for the Riverdragons.
"They really hurt us on the boards," said Patriots forward Antwain Smith. "We played great 'D' from beginning to end, but gave up too many offensive rebounds."
Sam Worthen served as interim coach for the Patriots after former head coach Nate "Tiny" Archibald announced his resignation earlier in the day to take a position with the NBA.
"Coach Archibald and I were close," said Terrell McIntyre. "He taught me a lot about being a great point guard and I'm sad to see him go."
The Patriots were led by John Strickland with 17 points (8-13 FGA, 1-4 FTA) and McIntyre with 16 points (7-10 FGA, 2-2 FTA). Former St. John's University standout Omar Cook notched five assists over 23 minutes off the bench for the Patriots in his first NBDL game.
"They dominated us on the offensive glass and got too many second and third shot opportunities," said Worthen. "And then we missed free throws on top of that. But our guys went out and played hard and gave a great effort tonight."
The Riverdragons opened up a 22-17 lead after one as Gabe Muoneke scored eight points (3-5 FGA, 2-2 FTA) in the period. Columbus built its biggest lead of the game, 24-17, as Johnson opened up the second quarter with a running layup.
With the Riverdragons leading 27-23, Muoneke suffered a sprained right ankle and exited the game with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter. Fayetteville then closed the first half with a 10-3 run to take a 39-36 advantage into the locker rooms.
The third period saw eight lead changes, but the Patriots maintained their three-point advantage heading into the final stanza. Fayetteville led by five points (67-62) with 2:26 to go, but the Riverdragons ran off six straight points to take a 68-67 lead with just 1:12 left on the clock.
Trailing 70-69 with 23.8 to go, McIntyre missed a driving layup and Poole found Jeremy Veal wide open down the court for the easy layup to put Columbus up 72-69. The Patriots had one final shot to tie the game, but Antwain Smith's three-point attempt fell short as time expired.
The Patriots shot .446 (29-65 FGA) from the field, but his just 11-20 from the line (.550). The Riverdragons were held to a season-low .302 (26-86 FGA) shooting, but connected on 20-26 from the line (.769).
Columbus outrebounded the Patriots 50-41 including 23-9 off the offensive glass. Patriots committed 16 turnovers resulting in 17 points for the Riverdragons while Columbus had just 10 miscues resulting in nine points for Fayetteville.
