The scoreboard showed that the Iowa Energy lost last night in Game 2 of the NBA Developmental League finals, 141-122, to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

For Managing Owner Jerry Crawford, though, seeing more than 14,000 fans in Wells Fargo Arena had to feel a little bit like a win.

Crawford expressed confidence before the game that the stands would fill up with “thousands” more people than the previous Energy and D-League attendance record of 8,842. The team’s run to the finals is good for business, he said, and packing the arena could pay dividends in the long run.

“People who have never seen an Energy game are going to be here tonight, and see how exciting it is, what high-quality basketball it is, and it’s going to make them want to come back next year,” Crawford said before the game. “Other people who have been here sometimes, but not regularly, may decide, ‘You know what, I’m going to get season tickets.’ That’s the foundation that you desire in this kind of business.”

Crawford, an attorney at Crawford Quilty Law Firm, formed the Iowa Basketball LLC ownership group along with Gary Kirke, Sheldon Ohringer and Paul Drey to bring the Energy to Des Moines for its inaugural season in 2007-08.

Crawford got his wish of a packed house, and spoke to the crowd twice in the fourth quarter. First, he excitedly announced that the team had blown past the previous attendance record.

Then, with less than a minute left and the score out of reach for the hometowners, Crawford told the remaining crowd that the dream wasn’t over. The decisive Game 3 is Friday night, and a ticket stub or white T-shirt given out at Wednesday’s game will earn fans a buy-one, get-one-free ticket deal.

What could this trip to the finals do for the organization?

“I think it’s a real turning point for us,” Crawford said.