COLUMBUS, Ga., Jan 11 -- Thomas Hamilton, recently claimed on waivers by Greenville, scored a layup as time expired to give the Groove a 72-70 victory over the Riverdragons at the Columbus Civic Center on Friday night.
"The main thing was to get a shot going inside," said Groove head coach Milton Barnes. "We had to get something inside and that was the jump shot. They just forced us to get in. The guys did a good job of attacking the basket and that is what you have to do. Even if it is a tied score, you just run the clock down and hope you get it."
The game was the Groove's third straight that was decided by a single point. The Groove (14-13) lost to the Huntsville Flight 91-90 on Jan. 8 and beat the Asheville Altitude 68-67 on Jan. 6.
Greenville was led by Eric Harris with 14 points. Jeff Meyers (12 points), Billy Thomas (11 points) and Rahim Lockhart (10 points) were also in double figures for the Groove.
The lost snapped the Riverdragons' two-game win-streak. The Riverdragons (13-11) have dropped three straight at home and have not won at the Columbus Civic Center since defeating the Roanoke Dazzle 74-65 on Dec. 19.
The Riverdragons were led by Tremaine Fowlkes with 20 points, his team-high eighth 20-plus-point performance of the season. Fowlkes has posted double-figures in all 24 games he has played in this season.
The Riverdragons also received a solid performance from their starting backcourt. Shooting guard Ray Tutt had eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, while point guard Chris Garner added 16 points.
The game seesawed back and forth in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Gabe Muoneke fired a perfect fullcourt pass to Tutt who finished with a driving layup to give the Riverdragons a 67-66 lead with 1:32 to play in regulation. Tutt was fouled on the play but missed the ensuing free throw.
With score tied at 68-68, Jeff Myers hit a lay-up to put the Groove up by two, 70-68, with 41 seconds remaining. Tutt answered with a 18-foot jump shot to tie the score at 70-70, setting the stage for Hamilton's final shot.
With two seconds to play, Meyers lobbed the ball to Hamilton deep in the key. Hamilton turned and banked it in as time expired to give the Groove the 72-70 victory. Hamilton finished with six points.
The Groove has won five of their last six games and moved into a tie for fourth place with the Asheville Altitude, who lost 83-76 in overtime to the Fayetteville Patriots.
