Skyforce Let Fourth Quarter Lead Slip Away In Loss to BayHawks

A cold shooting fourth quarter doomed Sioux Falls as the Erie BayHawks bested the Skyforce 108-100 at Erie Insurance Arena with 3,607 in attendance.  

In this back and forth battle, it all seemed to be rolling toward another Sioux Falls (3-3) win as 12 straight points bridging the third and fourth quarters gave the visitors a lead of 86-79.  The exclamation being a heave from beyond half court by Michael Williams that beat the third quarter buzzer.  The overriding pattern that continued was of alternate quarter momentum.  First and third quarters favored the ‘Force while the second and fourth belonged to the BayHawks.

Erie (4-4) closed off any potential uprising by holding the visitors scoreless from the 5:43 mark of the fourth quarter until a Larry Drew II free throw with 2:37 left.  During that crucial stretch the BayHawks turned a 1 point deficit into a 6 point lead and it was enough to stand up.

Most of Erie's heavy lifting was done by forward Drew Crawford (26 points, 7 rebounds), guard Seth Curry (24 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and guard Peyton Siva (21 points 10 rebounds, 8 assists). Siva's night deserves special recognition which you can see below.

Drew II's early shooting struggles this season are now in the rear-view as the floor general shot 8-13 from the floor to notch 20 points to go with 11 assists and 7 rebounds.  Khem Birch came up with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks with Andre Dawkins on assignment from the Miami Heat adding 17 points in his NBA Development League debut.

Next up for the Skyforce is the third of four on the road with Maine being the next destination while Erie will host the Grand Rapids Drive.  Both games will take place on Saturday night.