IFL: Fever lose lead, fall to Billings 49-44

The Tri-Cities Fever, needing a victory to improve its chances in the Indoor Football League playoff picture, couldn’t stop the visiting Billings Wolves from rallying in the second half to win 49-44 on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

The loss drops the Fever’s record to 3-8 with five games remaining in the season.

Tri-Cities had a 36-26 halftime lead and was halfway to having the inside lead on the Wolves (now 5-6) for the third and final playoff berth in the Intense Conference.

But Billings exploded in the third quarter, going on a 20-0 run over the first 8 minutes, to take the lead for good.

The Fever offense could not score in the third quarter, and Tri-Cities managed just eight points in the second half.

In the final 3 minutes of the contest, Billings defensive back Michael Green intercepted two passes — one each from Hunter Wanket and Pat McCain — in the end zone to stop Fever drives.

While Tri-Cities is not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and could still very well get in, the Fever needs to start winning.

The Fever travels to Spokane on Friday to take on the Empire.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 10:13 PM with the headline "IFL: Fever lose lead, fall to Billings 49-44."