Flyers Top RimRockers

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan 6– The game was not a blowout like the night before, but the Fort Worth Flyers managed a second straight victory over the Arkansas RimRockers, 107-99, on Saturday.

In a first quarter, the Flyers fell behind by eight but rallied to end the quarter with a 29-17 advantage. At 8:36 to go and Arkansas leading 8-2, head coach Sidney Moncrief replaced all starters with players from the bench.

He said the reason for the switch was a lack of energy.

“I just felt that we weren’t playing hard enough,” he said. “Our defense was not sharp, ball movement was not there, and we just went with wholesale substitutions. They got the pace back to where we wanted it. The intensity got back – they allowed us to win the ball game.”

Arkansas had its largest lead of the first half at 10-2 with 8:19 remaining. Fort Worth whittled away and tied the game at 14 when forward Anthony Terrell completed a 3-point play with 4:21 to go. From there, the Flyers erupted for a 12-3 run to end the quarter on a good note.

In the second quarter, guard Kevin Burleson scored right away, but Fort Worth’s defense allowed a 10-0 run to allow Arkansas to come within 31-27 with 9:01 to go. Arkansas briefly took the lead late in the second quarter, but a free throw by guard Jeremy Richardson and field goal by guard Corey Santee put the Flyers back up 46-44 with 2:02 to go. Fort Worth ended the half on another run, this time 7-2, to allow a 53-48 advantage.

In the first half, Fort Worth edged the RimRockers in total rebounds – the Flyers had 28, while Arkansas had 25. The Flyers also made 8-of-11 free throws and Arkansas connected on 7-of-15. The first half consisted of three lead changes and four ties.

Moncrief said Arkansas guard Clay Tucker is a hot player as he had 42 points, six rebounds and two assists.

“Hot players make shots,” Moncrief said. “When guys are making shots, it’s going to be a close game.”

In the third quarter, Fort Worth upheld its lead, never allowing Arkansas to jump ahead. The teams traded baskets almost evenly as Fort Worth shot 9-of-20 and Arkansas made 11-of-19. However, the RimRockers tied the game three times in the quarter, but the Flyers escaped with a 76-74 lead at the buzzer.

In the gritty fourth quarter, the opponents swapped field goals and free throws – but Fort Worth slowly started to pull away near the end. The entire fourth quarter had eight lead changes and four ties, but the Flyers devoured the RimRockers for a second consecutive night 107-99.

Moncrief said a team up by a large margin should expect its opponent to make a run, and tonight the Flyers held on.

“Consistency is winning,” he said. “We won last night, we won tonight. We don’t expect to go in and actually blow people out. We expect games to be close and competitive as it was tonight.”

He said the Flyers were fortunate to win the game, as the RimRockers are capable of defeating them, but it was a good win for the home team. He said in general, he was pleased with the win as the Flyers out-rebounded their opponent 53-45, had balanced scoring and committed only 13 turnovers.

The Flyers were led by Burleson, who had 19 points, plus six boards and five assists. Richardson also had 10 points, one rebound and one assist. Off the bench, Santee and center Deji Akindele had 18 points each. Forward Terrance Thomas led the team in rebounding with 16.

Arkansas center Marcus Campbell had 16 points, 15 rebounds and an assist. Guard Olu Famutimi had seven points and two rebounds, and forward Jonathan Moore had six boards, two steals and three blocks.

Fort Worth improves to 11-3 while Arkansas drops to 6-10. The Flyers will hit the highway for a seven-game road trip that begins Jan. 13 when they face the Albuquerque Thunderbirds at Tingley Coliseum; tip off is set for 8:00 p.m. The RimRockers will travel to Sioux Falls to play the Skyforce. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Sioux Falls Arena.