G League Grand Rapids Drive

Ebanks Scores 37 as Grand Rapids Wins a Wild One over Delaware

March 19, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Grand Rapids Drive News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Devin Ebanks scored eight points during a 24-second stretch in the third quarter and finished with 37 points before a packed house.

Ebanks helped the Grand Rapids Drive beat the Delaware 87ers 133-124 on Saturday night in front of 4,274 fans at the DeltaPlex Arena.

Grand Rapids, the affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, improves to 20-24. Delaware, whose parent team is the Philadelphia 76ers, falls to 19-25.

Ebanks, a 6-foot-9 forward out of West Virginia, had his seventh 30-point game of the season as he shot 13-of-22 from the field. Dahntay Jones was 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and tied his season-high with 26 points. Ismael Romero had his first double-double with a season-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kelsey Barlow had 25 points and Bruce Massey added 14.

Russ Smith was Russdiculous for the Sevens. The guard lived up to his nickname by scoring 40 points. The former Louisville star, who is the No. 1 prospect in the D-League, was 16-of-28 from the field and drained four 3-pointers. He's averaging 26 points a game. Christian Wood had his 13th double-double of the season with 17 points and 19 rebounds. Rodney Carney added 22 points.

Delaware was hot to start the second half. It went on a 14-2 run - including four buckets by Smith - to take an 81-80 lead, its first of the game. But Ebanks scored a stunning eight points in 24 seconds, including two 3-pointers to give Grand Rapids an 89-86 lead.

It was a huge first half, for Grand Rapids, which set a franchise record for points in the first half, as they led 78-67. The previous record was 73 against the Raptors 905 on Dec. 15. Ebanks had 19 points and Barlow had 18. The Drive scored a season-high 42 points in the first quarter, highlighted by two tomahawk dunks by Romero as they led 42-31. The previous high was 34.

It was a reunion of sorts for Sam Thompson, who was drafted by the Drive in November. He played the first 17 games of the season with Grand Rapids, before being traded to Delaware on Jan 13 for Gary Talton. Thompson had 13 points and Talton had seven.

Massey made his debut with the Drive. The 6-foot-3 guard out of Middle Tennessee State, signed with the team on Friday. He had a strong game, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and also had four assists and three rebounds.

Delaware coach Kevin Young was ejected with 22.9 seconds left in the game after arguing a call.

Delaware continues its road trip when it travels to Canton on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. EST game. Grand Rapids begins a three-game road trip on Sunday with a 5 p.m. game in Fort Wayne.

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