Mad Ants Open Season with Win Over Skyforce
November 25, 2011 - NBA G League (G League)
Indiana Mad Ants News Release
FORT WAYNE, IN - The Fort Wayne Mad Ants opened their season with a hotly contested 110-106 victory over the Sioux Falls Skyforce at the Memorial Coliseum. The Mad Ants showed no signs of offseason rust with a balanced attack having six players scoring in double digits, three of which scored 20 or more.
The Sioux Falls Skyforce set the tone with three quick dunks early in the first quarter, but the Mad Ants responded with strong shooting led by Ron Howard's 10 first quarter points. Howard's shooting was contagious as the Mad Ants team as a whole shot a blazing 67 percent from the field to close the quarter with a 12-point lead.
The pace of the game slowed considerably in the second quarter with the two defenses beating up on each other as turnover and foul totals climbed. By the end of the quarter, however, the Mad Ants found their groove and closed the half on another hot streak, and the Ants left for the locker room with a 58-44 lead.
Sioux Falls carved into their 14-point halftime deficit to end the third quarter down by only five. Charles Garcia continued his strong game as he ended the quarter with 21 points.
Corey Allmond single-handedly answered the strong Sioux Falls third quarter when he found the bottom of the net on three consecutive three-point attempts to swing the momentum in Fort Wayne's favor. The Skyforce responded with clutch shooting and tenacious defense, and the game was within one possession for the last minutes of the fourth quarter, but Fort Wayne endured the strong Sioux Falls effort and held on to win 110-106.
Darnell Lazare and rookie Cameron Jones led the Mad Ants with 21 points apiece. Walker Russell finished with 20 points and a game-high 12 assists.
Garcia led the Skyforce with a game-high 32 points. Gabe Pruitt finished with 23 points and Greg Steimsma contributed with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and a game-high 4 blocked shots.
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