Austin Toros drop season opener as they rally late to force overtime but lose on last second buzzer beater
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 28, 2008 - The Austin Toros rallied late from a 14 point deficit to tie the game up and send it into overtime but it was Utah's J.R. Giddens providing the final heroics as he hit a jumper at the buzzer giving the Utah Flash a 93-91 win in Austin Friday night.
The Toros got out to an early 9-4 lead as Marcus Williams scored three early points and Charles Gaines hit a short jump hook at the 4:52 mark of the first quarter.
Utah then started to heat up as they went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 12-9 lead. J.R. Giddens dunked gave Utah the lead at 10-9 and the teammate Bennett Davis was fouled and hit 2-of-2 from the line to build on the lead.
Both teams managed to keep things close in the first half with the lead changing hands on several occasions. Giddens, on assignment from the Boston Celtics and playing his first game with the Flash, had a six points in the first half.
After leading by just two at the half, the Flash turned a 43-41 lead into a 10 point lead by the 6:28 mark of the third quarter when Davis hit a jump shot to move the lead out to 55-45.
Down by 14 points with just seconds to go in the third quarter, the Toros Tack Minor scored his first points of the game when he drove the lane and scooped one in to bring Austin back to within twelve as the third point came to a close.
The Flash looked like they were ready to put this one away when Dontell Jackson dunked to give Utah a 80-68 lead with just over four minutes to go in the game but the Toro's had one last run in them.
With about three minutes left in the game Serge Angounou nailed a three pointer to bring the Toros within nine at 80-71. Tack Minor then drained a three pointer with 2:21 left in the game and all of a sudden the Flash lead was down to six at 74-80.
The Toros stepped up the defensive pressure and was able to hit some key shots, the last of which was a Malik Hairston three pointer with nine seconds to go that would send the game into overtime.
Williams opened the overtime period with a three pointer to give Austin the early overtime lead. Both teams took turns wrestling the lead away from the other as they fought to claim the season opener but this one would come down to the very last second of the overtime period.
Tied up at 91-91 and the clock at sixth-tenths of a second, Utah's inbound pass went to J.R.Giddens and he calmly sank the game winner as his jumper found its way in.
Giddens posted a double-double on the night with his 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Austin's Marcus Williams put up a double -double for the Toros and led all scorers with 27 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with two blocked shots and five steals. Teammate Malik Hairston also posted a double-double with his 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Toros will be back in action tonight when they take on Tulsa at 7:30 pm.
