CEDAR PARK – With the Austin Spurs maintaining an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter, it looked as if the silver and black would cruise to their third straight victory.
Somehow the Spurs found themselves tied at 106 in overtime with 2.1 seconds remaining, before Bryn Forbes would catch the inbound pass from Dejounte Murray, gather his footing, twist his body to the right while maneuvering along the sideline, square up and launch a contested 3-pointer over Lewis Jackson.
Murray lifted his arms high as the ball sailed into the air and through the bottom of the net to lift the Austin Spurs to a 109-106 victory.
Six players scored in double figures for the silver and black, led by Cheick Diallo’s 21 points and seven rebounds. Forbes, who was assigned to Austin this morning, finished with 17 points in 36 minutes. Murray stuffed the stat sheet once again, scoring 16 points to go along with six rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Forward Livio Jean-Charles narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Patricio Garino and Cory Jefferson added in 12 points each.
For Erie, the first overall draft pick in the 2016 D-League Draft, Anthony Brown, led all scores with 25 points. Cliff Alexander had 20 points and 15 rebounds, with Branden Dawson and Ramon Galloway chipping in 19 and 16 points off the bench, respectively. TJ Price added 14 points for the BayHawks.
The Spurs started the first quarter on absolute fire from the field, leading 28-12 after the first 12 minutes of action.
Alexander and Brown would slowly chip away at the Spurs double-digit lead, going into halftime with a 10-point deficit.
A strong third quarter by Diallo, still on assignment from the New Orleans Pelicans, helped the Spurs maintain their 81-69 lead going into the final quarter before things got a little weird.
Erie would go on a 13-3 run in a span of four minutes to tie the game at 90 with 4:09 left in the game. A pair of turnovers by Murray fueled some easy baskets for the BayHawks, as they jumped out to a 99-94 lead. But Murray managed to redeem himself by going on a solo 5-0 run that forced overtime.
A pair of free throws by Murray put the Spurs up three with 12.3 seconds remaining, but Erie’s Anthony Brown would answer with his third 3-pointer of the game to tie it at 106, leaving the door open for the game-winner by Forbes.
The Austin Spurs (3-1) now get a couple days off before heading to South Dakota to take on the Sioux Falls Skyforce (2-0) on Tuesday night. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. CST from the Sanford Pentagon, with the game being broadcast on Facebook Live.
