Mad Ants Hold off Iowa's Comeback Bid
December 11, 2021 - NBA G League (G League)
Indiana Mad Ants News Release
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - December 10, 2021 - Despite being outscored by seven in the fourth quarter, Fort Wayne held on Friday night to beat Iowa, 105-103 in the opening of a back-to-back between the two teams.
The Mad Ants shot 44.7 percent from the field in a game that saw just two lead changes. Iowa outrebounded Fort Wayne 55-45.
Fort Wayne came out shooting hot again, hitting three quick three pointers to jump out to an 11-2 lead, but Vincent Edwards answered back with a three pointer of his own to spur a 7-0 run for Iowa. Terry Taylor shot 6-of-7 from the field in the first quarter, pushing the Mad Ants to lead by as many as 11 at one point and 33-24 at the first break.
Shooting went a bit cold for the Mad Ants to start the second quarter, but Iowa struggled to capitalize until later in the quarter. With 6:48 to play in the second quarter, a Canyon Berry free throw evened things up at 33 to complete a 9-0 run to start the quarter. Bennie Boatwright's three pointer on the next Fort Wayne possession ended the dry spell. At the six-minute mark, a Brian Bowen II three pointer pushed Iowa back into the game but it was again answered by Fort Wayne, this time with a Keifer Sykes three pointer. A three from Gabe York as the clock was running down gave Fort Wayne a 58-48 halftime lead.
Iowa worked hard to close the gap in the third quarter, getting as close as three points but the Mad Ants answered runs and a big Bowen II slam with near five and a half minutes left in the quarter. Will Vorhees pushed the lead back to nine points with 1:09 left in the quarter for Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne led 77-68 with a quarter to play.
The fourth quarter against saw runs from both teams as Iowa closed it to 84-82 before York found Sykes in the corner for a three pointer with 7:13 to play. With 5:43 to play, Iowa pushed back with a Chris Silva and-one that cut Fort Wayne's lead to 87-85. With 3:53 left, Iowa gained the lead back on a three pointer from Brandon Sampson to make it 90-89, but Taylor answered back on the other end. Fort Wayne extended their lead to four on their next possession with a Justin Anderson and-one; the Mad Ants would not trail the rest of the way.
Fort Wayne was led by 29 points and five steals from York and a career high 28 points from Taylor, who also added 13 rebounds.
Chris Silva scored a game high 32 points to pair with a game best 18 rebounds for the Wolves. Brandon Sampson added 19 points.
The two teams play again on Saturday night in Fort Wayne with a 7 p.m. tip.
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