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WINDY CITY FALLS 121-120 TO MEMPHIS IN A DOUBLE OVERTIME THRILLER

By Windy City Bulls Staff /March 18, 2018

[caption id="attachment_3101" align="aligncenter" width="600"] NBAE (Photo by John L. Alexander/ Windy City Bulls)[/caption]

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, dropped their second consecutive game in a 121-120 double overtime thriller on Saturday night at Sears Centre Arena.

Six Windy City players scored in double figures led by Tyler Harris who poured in a team-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Jarell Eddie collected his ninth 20-point game and tallied 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists, which set a career-high. Ryan Arcidiacono scored 18 points and added nine assists, while CJ Fair and Brandon Wood scored 16 points apiece. Mychal Mulder pitched in with 14 points and Will Davis made all four of his field-goals, which accounted for his eight points.

Fair put Windy City on the board first by scoring the opening basket of the game, but Memphis rattled off 10 of the next 15 points to grab an early 10-7 lead. After falling behind by three, Mulder and Harris scored seven consecutive points to give the Bulls the lead, which they held for a large portion of the contest. Six Windy City players cracked the scoring column in the first quarter with Fair tallying eight points to lead all scorers. He manufactured the final six points of the period for Windy City and as a result, the Bulls led by 10 at the end of the opening 12 minutes.

Former Chicago Bulls draft pick Marquis Teague led all scorers with 28 points and eight assists. Chance Comanche tallied 24 points and nine rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting, while Myke Henry scored 19 points and added eight rebounds. Omari Johnson posted and added nine rebounds and Dusty Hannahs pitched in with 15 points.

Windy City managed to maintain a healthy lead for the majority of the second period, including a 13-point advantage at one juncture. The Hustle wouldn’t go away and ultimately stayed within striking distance. With a six-point lead late in the second quarter, Windy City scored five straight to retake a double-digit lead, but Memphis scored the final four points to make it a seven-point game at the intermission.

Memphis started the second half with a quick 5-0 spurt to pull within two, which is the closest they had been since the first quarter. After having their lead trimmed to one possession, Windy City responded with a flurry of baskets and used a 19-0 run of their own to open a 21-point lead, their largest of the evening. In that span, Memphis went over four minutes without scoring a point and almost five minutes in between field-goals. The Hustle, however, wouldn’t go away and whittled off nine points to pull within a dozen with three minutes remaining in the period. For the quarter, the Bulls shot 45 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three and led by 90-77 heading into the final 12 minutes.

The Hustle had a dominant fourth quarter and used an early run to put themselves back in the game. In fact, they started the period on a 17-7 run to trim the deficit to three, which forced a Windy City timeout with eight minutes left to play. Following the stoppage, Arcidiacono and Fair scored a couple baskets to give the Bulls some breathing room, but back-to-back three-point shots by Memphis gave the Hustle their first lead since 10-7. The final four minutes featured two ties and four lead changes, with Windy City owning a two-point lead with 45 seconds left to play in regulation. Eddie gave the Bulls the advantage, but Henry tied the game on a driving layup and the two teams headed to overtime knotted up at 113.

There wasn’t much offense in the first extra session as both teams combined to scored eight points. Harris split a pair of free throws to break the tie, but on the ensuing possession, Teague converted on a driving layup to give Memphis the lead once more. Not to be outdone, Wood nailed a three-point basket to give Windy City the two-point lead, but in the closing seconds Henry beat the buzzer on a bank shot to tie the game at 117, sending the game to a second overtime

In the second overtime, Memphis drew first blood and scored the opening basket to take a 119-117 lead. Wood answered once more as he responded with a pull-up jumper to tie the game. With the game deadlocked at 119 and under 10 seconds to play, Fair split a pair of free throws to make it a 120-119 game in favor of Windy City. Without a timeout, the Hustle put the ball in Teague’s hands and he beat the buzzer on a mid-range jumper to seal the victory for the Hustle.

With this loss, the Bulls fall below the .500 mark and trail Grand Rapids by three games for the final playoff spot. Windy City will enjoy a couple days off before hosting the Drive on Tuesday, March 20 at Sears Centre Arena.

Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team on Twitter (@WindyCityBulls) or visiting (WindyCityBulls.com). Full season membership, group, and single tickets for the 2017-18 Windy City Bulls season are on sale now. For all ticket information and full season schedule, visit WindyCityBulls.com.