FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 8 – The Fort Worth Flyers were able to avenge their worst loss of the season by clipping the Albuquerque Thunderbirds 91-83 Sunday afternoon at the Fort WorthConvention Center, affectionately dubbed “The Hangar” by fans.


“Friday’s loss was difficult; we had a complete breakdown in all aspects of our game,” said Flyers head coach Sam Vincent.  “We had to redefine our roles, and we responded today with aggressive defense that led to easy baskets.”

Both teams came out hot and traded baskets early, but Vonteego Cummings extended the Flyers’ lead to nine points after hitting his second 3-pointer.  Every starter scored in the first quarter, and the Flyers walked away with a 31-21 lead.  That lead would never be relinquished throughout the game although the Thunderbirds would fight the entire time, even cutting the lead to just three points in the fourth quarter.  Chuck Hayes and Dallas native C. J. Miles led the charge in the fourth, but their efforts were not enough to regain the lead.  Ime Udoka and Rawle Marshall helped the Flyers fend off the feisty Thunderbirds’ late rally, and the Flyers captured an eight point victory.

The Flyers were led by Marshall’s 23 points and 8 rebounds with Udoka adding 17 points and 4 steals.  The theme for the Flyers was balanced scoring as all but one player tallied a point.  Cummings was the only other Flyer in double figures with 14 points.

Hayes had his second double-double in as many games against the Flyers, pulling down a team high 17 boards and chipping in with 14 points.  Joe Shipp and Miles led the Thunderbirds with 16 points while Tony Bland and Andreas Glyniadakis also topped double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

  The win moves the Flyers to 10-6 and into a tie with the Arkansas RimRockers for first place in the D-League standings as they prepare to take on the Austin Toros at home on January 12.

The loss drops Albuquerque to 9-7, and the next contest for the Thunderbirds will be another battle with the Flyers as they host Fort Worth on January 13.