FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Jan. 11 -- The Fayetteville Patriots improved to 2-0 under new head coach Jeff Capel as they defeated the Asheville Altitude 82-76 in overtime at the Crown Coliseum on Friday night.
Danny Johnson led the Patriots attack with a season-high 24 points (10-18 FGA, 4-4 FTA). Antwain Smith added his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Johnson and Smith led five Patriots in double-figure scoring, including Greg Stempin 17, Omar Cook 10 and Terrell McIntyre 10.
Paul Grant notched his sixth double-double of the season with 20 points (10-21 FGA) and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the Altitude.
"We kind of got into it defensively after the first quarter," Capel said. "I thought we were very lethargic in the first quarter and we can't afford to play that way. Fortunately, we made huge plays down the stretch and the steal Danny got gave us a chance to get into overtime. These guys played with a lot of heart tonight."
The Altitude opened up a 24-17 lead after one as Johnny Hemsley scored 12 straight points in a three-minute span in the first period. The Altitude headed to the locker room at the end of the half leading by only a bucket 43-41, as the Patriots rallied back with help from Johnson who tallied eight points in the second stanza.
The third period saw seven lead changes, but the Altitude maintained their two-point advantage headed into the final stretch. The Patriots found themselves down 69-67 with just 1:34 to go in the fourth, but Johnson came up with a clutch steal and went the length of the floor to tie the game at 69 with 21.3 seconds to go. Asheville's Grant missed a turnaround jumper as time expired sending the game to overtime. The Patriots outscored Asheville 8-2 over the final 1:45 of the extra session to ice the 82-76 win before a raucous crowd.
"I was most proud of my defensive effort which was a big key tonight more so than my offense," Johnson said. "Just making plays on the defensive end makes the offense a little bit easier."
The Patriots shot .471 (33-70 FGA) from the field and hit 15-19 FTA (.789). The Altitude shot .443 (35-79 FGA) and sank 4-8 FTA (.500). Asheville outrebounded Fayetteville 43-33.
The Patriots have now won two straight and are 7-17 on the season. The Altitude fell to 14-13 on the season.
