ALBANY – Ed Dyson III set the tone in the first quarter on Sunday. Trevis Wyche took over to start the second half.
They and their Albany Patroons teammates were a lot more comfortable with the familiar rims and larger court at Washington Avenue Armory in Game 2 of The Basketball League East Regional finals.
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Washington Avenue Armory, Albany
Wyche scored 27 points, including 15 in the third quarter, and Dyson added 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 115-97 victory over the St. Louis Griffins that tied the best-of-3 series.
They’ll meet again at 7 p.m. Monday in the deciding Game 3 for a trip to the TBL championship series.
The Patroons bounced back strongly from Thursday’s 108-86 loss at the Griffins, who play in a high school gymnasium.
“Playing in an away gym, in a high school court, it was hard shooting there,” said Dyson, who scored five points on 2-of-17 shooting in Game 1. “It was a horrible game for all of us. … Coming home, knowing the rims and knowing the arena is always better. I shoot better here. It’s the home gym, so I practice here every day, so shots are going to eventually fall.”
The Patroons, who shot 35.9 percent from the field in Game 1, made 51.8 percent in Game 2. Shadell Millinghaus contributed 17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Dyson opened the scoring with a mid-range jumper from the left side and then drove for a layup that gave the Patroons the lead for good at 6-5. He scored nine points in the first five minutes as the Patroons seized a 19-11 lead.
Albany led 54-46 at halftime when Wyche went to work. He scored the Patroons’ first 11 points of the third quarter, including three 3-pointers, during an 11-3 run that put them up 65-49 with 9:58 to play in the period.
“My teammates believed in me,” Wyche said. “They told me at halftime, ‘Listen, Trev. Shoot the ball. Go score.’ Taking care of the guys the whole first half, it’s time for me to go score. They had the confidence in me and I went out there and made some plays.”
The Patroons outrebounded St. Louis 54-42 and outscored the Griffins 52-40 in the paint. Those were reversals from Game 1, when St. Louis had a 59-52 rebounding advantage and 64-50 scoring edge in the paint.
“We just had to come out and rebound, control the boards and get out in transition,” Wyche said. “Everything else is going to take care of itself.”
Patroons head coach Derrick Rowland made an adjustment by putting center Marcus Merchant back in the starting lineup in place of James Currington.
“Currington’s done a great job, but these (St. Louis) guys were just big and solid,” Rowland said. “So Marcus gave us a little length, shot-blocking in the paint and the ability to rebound with the big boys.”
There were six technical fouls in the second half, including four on St. Louis. Griffins forward Tavares Sledge, who had 17 points, was ejected with 10:35 to play.
“When the opposite team is losing, they try to do stuff to get in our heads,” Dyson said. “The team that we are and with the experience, we weren’t going to waver.”
The Patroons, who won two straight at home to beat Kokomo in the regional finals last year, will try to do the same against St. Louis on Monday. The East winner will face the victor of the West Regional series, which the Potawatomi (Okla.) Fire leads 1-0 over the Seattle Super Hawks.
“Very confident,” Dyson said. “They (St. Louis) kind of blew us out and we turned around and did the same thing. We’ve got homecourt advantage, so I think we could blow them out again tomorrow.”