ALBANY – The Albany Patroons had new ownership, a new coaching staff and an almost entirely new roster this year.
But the Patroons ended their season in heartbreakingly familiar fashion to last year – a close loss at home in a winner-take-all playoff game.
St. Louis Griffins guard Timmy Goodwin hit a mid-range jumper from the left side with 2.2 seconds left for a 95-93 victory over the Patroons on Monday night at Washington Avenue Armory in Game 3 of The Basketball League’s East Regional finals.
“We’re devastated, honestly,” Patroons guard Ed Dyson III said. “Especially to lose that way, it hurts even more. We saw ourselves in the finals, actually winning the whole thing. But it’s cut short.”
St. Louis moves on to The TBL finals, where the Griffins will play the West Regional champion Potawatomi Fire.
Goodwin caught the inbounds pass, took two dribbles to his left and, with a quick release, took a shot over Albany’s James Currington that went cleanly through the net.
“The last play was designed for Corey (Boyd), but they overplayed, so I just cut middle and took a shot for my team,” Goodwin said. “That’s all it was.”
It was the second straight series the Griffins won a Game 3 by two points on the road. They knocked off Kokomo in the Midwest Conference finals.
“Togetherness, man,” Goodwin said. “We just stayed together. Albany crowd got into it. We had to stay together and bounce back.”
The Griffins boarded a bus after the game for the 1,000-mile trip back to St. Louis. They left behind the devastated Patroons, who ended last season by losing Game 3 of last year’s TBL finals to Shreveport in overtime at the Armory.
Patroons guard Trevis Wyche was the only player left from last year’s roster. Clearly upset, he declined comment at his locker after Monday’s game.
Like that…
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