Augusta Groove co-owners and coaches Gary Perry and Ricky Brown take pride in the way they run practices.

Augusta's newest minor league sports team has traveled from gym to gym, practicing each weeknight wherever an indoor basketball court is available. A tryout was held at Bernie Ward Community Center by Butler High School in the off-season. Training camp took place at May Park. Practices have moved from Richmond Academy, where the Groove play their home games, to Murphey Middle School and Fort Gordon.

No matter where the practice is, the routine never changes.

"Practice is always intense," guard Lansen Leach said. "Coach is always talking about the fourth quarter. We want to be ready for that so we won't tire out."

Groove practices regularly include performing fast-paced 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 situations, sprinting through 11-man drills, and running suicides. The running precludes the usual full-game scrimmage: four consecutive 12-minute quarters meant to match -- if not surpass -- the pace of a live game.

"This is it. Every day," said forward Rodderick MacGhee during a two-minute break in practice. "Sixty percent of our practice is conditioning."

In their season opener, the Groove outlasted defending Premier Basketball League champion Rochester. The RazorSharks led for nearly three full quarters, but the Groove took the lead a minute before the fourth quarter and held on.

"It was obvious our conditioning down the stretch really paid off," Brown said. "Once we took the lead, it was over."

The Groove will expect a similar effort this weekend. They'll play back-to-back road games on Saturday and Sunday, beginning with a conference game against the Wilmington Sea Dawgs.

"I don't know much about them," Perry said during a practice this week as his players struggled to finish half a suicide in 15 seconds. "But that's why we're doing this. Practices should be harder than games."

Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.