Select an NBDL Team Asheville Altitude Charleston Lowgators Columbus Riverdragons Fayetteville Patriots Huntsville Flight Roanoke Dazzle

Huntsville Hoops for Title
Flight defeats Charleston to advance to NBDL Championship Game.

04.17.04 -- Charleston, SC– Damone Brown scored 34 points and Erick Barkley added 33 points in leading the Huntsville Flight to a 108-100 victory over Charleston in the semi-final round of the NBDL Postseason Classic.

Brown earned a measure of revenge against his former team by converting 8-of-20 field goal attempts, 13-of-15 from the free throw line and grabbing nine rebounds. Charleston waived Brown on March 16 and Huntsville acquired him on March 22.

"It feels good. It's special to have a good night against your old team," Brown said. "The last time I played here against them I had a bad game, so I needed to redeem myself. I still have a lot of friends over there."

Barkley made 11-of-17 from the floor and scored 16 points in the second quarter alone to give Huntsville a 59-49 lead at the half. He also connected on 11-of-13 free throw attempts for the game.

"Erick Barkley was big in the first half. He wanted the ball," Huntsville Head Coach Ralph Lewis said, "but Damone was the "X" factor. He showed up tonight in the big game.

"The game boiled down to the last five or six minutes and we were able to execute," Lewis said. "We have been the best road team in the league all year, and we came into a hostile environment and put it together."

With the game tied at 98, Brown hit a three-pointer to put the Flight up for good with 2:04 left to play. Barkley iced the game with a short jumper with 22 seconds left, putting Huntsville up 106-100, and then hit a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left for the final margin.

"You have to give Huntsville credit. They earned this win," Charleston Head Coach Doug Marty said. "It all came down to a couple of possessions at the end and they were able to make the plays down the stretch.

"When you shoot the percentages they did from the floor and the line, you are usually going to come out with a win," Marty said. "In a single-elimination format you have to be able to put together your top game."

The Flight converted 36-of-68 field goal attempts (52.9) and 31-of-37 free throw tries (83.8). Charleston shot 45.6-percent (36-79) from the floor and 76.5 percent from the line (26-34). Both teams collected 39 rebounds.

Tierre Brown, the NBDL's most valuable player this season, led the Lowgators with 29 points. Ime Udoka recorded a double-double for Charleston with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Rod Grizzard chipped in 13 after coming off the Huntsville bench. The league's leading rebounder, Rodney Bias, grabbed 11 boards.

The Flight will travel to Asheville for the championship game of the tournament on Saturday, April 24. The Altitude secured the host spot in the finals by defeating Fayetteville, 116-111, in the other semi-final game in Asheville Saturday evening.