Toros Defeat Dazzle 106-96
February 11, 2006 - NBA G League (G League)
Austin Spurs News Release
AUSTIN, TEXAS -- After trailing for most of the first half Saturday against the Roanoke Dazzle (13-15), the Austin Toros (16-12) exploded for 30 points in the third quarter as they cruised to a 106-96 win at the Convention Center.
During the deciding third quarter, Austin outscored Roanoke 30-18 and held the Dazzle to just 36.8 percent on 7-of-19 shooting. The Toros shot considerably better from the field during the third quarter knocking down 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field and shot a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
Austin's Marcus Fizer kept the Toros close in the first knocking down five of his first nine shots to finish with 11 points in the first quarter. But the Dazzle connected on 20-of-39 (51.3 percent) baskets from the field including 3-of-4 from 3-point range to hold on to the slim first half lead.
The Toros closed the gap in the second quarter using some solid defense from its bench players. Behind 11 Roanoke first half turnovers, Austin was able to keep the deficit to just two points (52-50 heading into the locker room.
"We played good solid defense tonight," said Toros guard Ramel Curry. "And in the games that we win and the games that we lose, playing good defense is usually the determining factor."
Roanoke took a three point lead into the second quarter (31-28) behind some red-hot shooting from Grundy early on. Grundy paced the Dazzle in the first quarter finishing with 13 of the team's 31 first quarter points. Grundy even showed the Austin crowd a rarity in the sport of basketball as he included a four-point play during the first quarter.
Trailing by ten points heading into the fourth quarter, Roanoke pulled the deficit to within six points (80-74) with 11:21 left to play. But Austin continued to play solid defense throughout the remainder of the fourth quarter as the Dazzle would not get any closer than six the rest of the way.
Austin's big man Fizer led the Toros once again with 23 points and eight rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Andre Emmett came off the bench to chip in 16 points while Ramel Curry added 13 points.
Anthony Grundy finished as the game's high scorer with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Peter Ramos chipped in with 17 points while Seth Doliboa added 11 points.
Roanoke shot a better percentage from the field than did the Toros (50.6 percent to 49.4 percent) but made several more miscues finishing with 24 turnovers to Austin's 17.
"We talked about only being able to have about 13 or so turnovers to have a chance to win the game," Dazzle head coach Davison said. "We weren't able to keep our miscues down and it cost us tonight."
Both teams will meet again on Valentines Day, Tuesday, Feb. 14 at the Austin Convention Center. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. (CST).
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