The last time these two teams met, it was a first quarter blitz that led to a victory. On Friday night, the 4th quarter was the decider as the Sioux Falls Skyforce beat the Erie BayHawks 103-89 in NBA Development League action.

Granted the last time was last season and that was a Skyforce win, too.  However, the inventory in the cupboard last year was mighty slim, so that 39 point laugher stands out like a sour note at the opera. Fast-forward to the 5th game of the 2012-13 season and this one was in Erie’s control throughout. The BayHawks led the entire first half and the game was tied once at 26-26. Halftime saw Erie ahead and the home team looked sluggish.

During the second half, Sioux Falls grabbed a brief lead at 56-54 then again at 61-60. Erie stormed back with the next 10 points and looked poised to get a road win, pushing the lead to 11 points in the third. The Skyforce shook loose to get within 76-71 at the end of the 3rd period.

The blitz arrived and Erie met their demise over a two minute stretch in the middle of the final frame. With the game tied at 79, Sioux Falls got a 10-0 run. Ballgame. The Skyforce shot 13 of 20 in the period, Erie 6 of 21 from the floor. Stepping up at crunch time gives Sioux Falls the target on their back at the top of the D-League mountain at 5-0 while Erie dropped to 2-3 for the year.

The home team was led by Troy Hudson with 27 points, while Demetris Nichols finished with 25 points and 8 rebounds. Andrew Goudelock and Jarvis Varnado both scored 12.  D.J. Kennedy led Erie and all scorers with 28 points and collected 8 caroms with Henry Sims pouring in 18 counters. Sioux Falls plays again Saturday night with the Texas Legends making their Sioux Falls Arena debut while the BayHawks will take on the Iowa Energy.

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