WINDY CITY FINSHES ROADTRIP 3-1, BEAT LONG ISLAND 103-96

[caption id="attachment_3051" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images[/caption]

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, concluded their four-game road trip with a record of 3-1 after beating the Long Island Nets 103-96 on Sunday afternoon inside Nassau Coliseum.

For the third time this season, Jarell Eddie led the Bulls in scoring and posted a stat line of 23 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks. Alex Hamilton scored 18 points and collected five steals for the second consecutive game, while CJ Fair added 17 points and seven rebounds in his first start with Windy City. Ryan Arcidiacono pitched in with 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists and Tyler Harris had 11 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Windy City struggled in the opening quarter as Long Island jumped out front and scored the first ten points of the game, which forced an early Bulls timeout. A driving layup by Harris got Windy City on the board, but not before the Bulls went scoreless for the opening 4:42. The Nets extended their advantage and led 17-4, but Windy City rattled off eight straight points to close the gap to five. The Bulls had an uphill battle as they lost Antonio Blakeney to an early ejection. Despite shooting 35 percent from the floor, Hamilton scored the final four points of the stanza and the Bulls trailed by a bucket at the end of the first quarter.

Kamari Murphy poured in 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Jeremy Senglin tallied 15 points off the bench, while Isaiah Whitehead and James Webb III scored 13 points apiece. Milton Doyle, Long Island’s second two-way player, struggled offensively and scored just nine points in 37 minutes, but recorded eight rebounds and six assists.

Brandon Wood scored the opening basket of the second quarter to tie the game at 24, but Long Island responded with five quick points of their own to retake the lead. There wasn’t much separation as neither team led by more than five points in the period. In fact, there were five ties and three lead changes in the 12-minute span. With the game deadlocked at 43 apiece, Eddie knocked in a three-pointer to put the Bulls on top, which is where they would stay for the remainder of the half. Windy City outscored the Nets 28-21 and used a 7-2 spurt to close the half and owned 50-45 lead at the intermission.

The Bulls kept Long Island at bay and maintained the lead for the entire third quarter. Windy City found an offensive balance as Hamilton scored six points in the period with four other Bulls players scoring four points each. The Bulls led by five on a couple occasions in the quarter, but a pair of free throws by the Nets made it a 74-71 Bulls lead heading into the final quarter.

Long Island used an early 8-2 fourth quarter run to take a three-point lead and they led by as many as seven points in the final 12 minutes. The free throw line served as the Bulls ally with Windy City making 16 of their 17 free throw attempts. The final period was nip-and-tuck as the lead changed hands on a number of occasions. Trailing 95-93 with under two minutes to play, the Bulls scored five of the next six points and Hamilton gave Windy City the lead on a two-point basket. Six made free throws in the final 30 seconds sealed the win, and the Bulls grabbed their 20th victory of the season.

Windy City finishes the season 2-1 against Long Island and have two more road games remaining on the 2017-18 schedule. The Bulls return home on Wednesday to take on the Iowa Wolves. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. CST 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.