Florida 105, Roanoke 98
Flame Show Wright Stuff in Win Over Dazzle
ESTERO, Fla., Jan. 13 – It didn’t take long for Dorell Wright to make
his presence known in the NBA Development League.
The 6-8 swingman,
who was assigned to the Florida Flame by the Miami Heat on Jan. 3,
had a breakout performance on Friday night at Germain Arena, hitting for a
game-high 32 points to propel the Flame to a 105-98 victory over the
Roanoke Dazzle.
Wright hit 15 of his 22 shots and collected nine rebounds as Florida
(11-7) earned its second straight victory and sixth in eight head-to-head
meetings with Roanoke (7-12) this season.
“I’m starting to feel very comfortable with my teammates and coaches; and
that has made a huge difference for me,” said Wright. “It felt like
everything was working for me tonight; my mid-range game, getting to the
basket, and just using my athleticism to my advantage.”
After scoring four points in the first quarter, Wright erupted over the
final three stanzas, hitting for eight points in the second period, 10 in
the third, and 10 more in the fourth to help the Flame stave off any
Dazzle hopes of a victory.
Roanoke made its push in the fourth quarter as the D-League’s leading
scorer Anthony Grundy drove the lane for a layup that brought the Dazzle
within one with 11:15 to play. But Florida slowly and steadily
built back its lead. Wright connected for eight points in a 14-5 Flame
run over the next 7:04 that pushed the Florida advantage to 89-79 with
4:11 left.
Grundy would not let the Dazzle go down easily. The veteran guard out of
North Carolina State, who went scoreless in the first half, hit four
three-pointers in the final four minutes to keep Roanoke within striking
distance. The Flame responded by hitting eight of 10 free throws down the
stretch to earn the victory.
Florida finished with five players in double figures. Along with Wright’s
32, Earl Barron posted his first double-double with 23 points and 13
rebounds, Andre Barrett hit for 15 points, and Theron Smith (10 points, 10
rebounds) and Dwayne Jones (10 points, 12 rebounds) each collected
double-doubles.
The Dazzle had five players in double figures. Grundy scored all of his
team-high 23 points in the second half, Will Bynum tallied 21 points,
Peter Ramos notched 19, Isiah Victor scored 11 points, while Seth Doliboa
finished with 10 points in the loss.
The Flame and Dazzle will return to action at this weekend’s MLK Showcase
at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C. Florida opens up its Showcase
schedule against the Fayetteville Patriots on Sunday, January 15 at 5 p.m.
while the Dazzle take on the Forth Worth Flyers on Sunday at 8 p.m.