Lakeland Stops Fort Wayne on Record Night
March 4, 2022 - NBA G League (G League)
Indiana Mad Ants News Release
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Lakeland survived a furious Mad Ants comeback attempt in the fourth quarter Friday night to pick up a 137-130 win at the Coliseum.
Jordan Bell's triple double of 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds led Fort Wayne; it was Bell's second triple double of the season and the 11th in Mad Ants history. Lakeland was led by 33 points from Aleem Ford and 32 from Devin Cannady.
Lakeland led on the score board after one, 37-33, but Fort Wayne's Nate Hinton was the featured attraction of the show. Hinton scored 17 first quarter points on 7-of-10 shooting. Lakeland countered with 12 points from Aleem Ford and both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the opening quarter.
Ford continued his hot start in the second quarter, adding 15 more points to his total to go into the locker room with 27 points on 9 of 11 shooting, all from three point range. It helped Lakeland extend their lead to 20 at 60-40 before back to back Will Vorhees buckets slowed the Magic momentum for the moment. Lakeland led 73-50 going into halftime.
Although Fort Wayne held Ford to just two third quarter points, they struggled to make a dent in Lakeland's lead. The Magic maintained a comfortable lead of 21 after three quarters as Hassani Gravett beat the quarter buzzer with a floater.
Fort Wayne pushed a furious pace in the fourth, getting back within single digits with 1:45 to play on a Gabe York free throw following a Lakeland technical. Nate Hinton added two more free throws from the same possession to pull Fort Wayne back within seven at 129-122. Lakeland contained things in the final minute however to keep their lead.
Also on the nights, Fort Wayne welcomed the one millionth home court fan at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Jason Reibs was celebrated before the game as the one millionth Mad Ant fan through the gates in the past 15 seasons at Fort Wayne's home arena. With tonight's game, the Mad Ants have now hosted 1,000,544 fans all-time at the Coliseum.
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