Flame Survive Patriots’ Rally, Earn Home Win

ESTERO, Fla., Dec. 16 -- Bracey Wright tallied a game-high 24 points while Hiram Fuller, Dwayne Jones, and Andre Barrett notched double-doubles to propel the Florida Flame to an 83-78 victory over the visiting Fayetteville Patriots on Saturday night.

The win was the fourth in the last five games for the Flame (5-2), who remain one game behind first place Arkansas (7-2) in the D-League standings. Fayetteville (2-7) has now lost five in a row, and owns a 1-6 road record.

Florida led 63-47 with 7:24 left in the third quarter after a Fuller layup, but the Patriots mounted a furious rally to close the period. Fayetteville went on a 16-1 run to cut the Flame lead to 64-63 heading to the fourth.

Carlos Hurt continued the Patriots run into the fourth quarter, hitting a three-pointer and later converting a steal into a layup to gave Fayetteville a 75-71 lead with 5:33 to go.

But Florida answered with 9-0 run culminating in a Wright lay-in with 3:22 remaining that gave the Flame an 80-75 lead.

A Johnson lay-up brought the Patriots within one point, at 81-80 with 56.8 seconds to go, but that’s as close as Fayetteville would get. Barrett and Wright connected on free throws to push the Florida advantage to 83-80, and Erik Daniels’ three-point attempt at the horn was off the mark.

Fuller and Jones each notched their fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 17 rebounds and 15 points and 18 rebounds, respectively. Barrett earned his second double-double with 12 points and 12 assists.

Fayetteville was led by three players in double figures. King posted a team-high 16 points, Johnson scored 15, and Hurt had 14 in the loss.

The Flame and Patriots wrap up their weekend double-header Saturday at 6:00 p.m.