Red Claws Hold off Late Surge from BayHawks for 114-110 Win
Published on March 16, 2014 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME - March 16, 2014 - The Maine Red Claws (18-24), presented by Unum, were able to hold off a late rally that saw a 16 point lead dwindle to just two points, converting their free throws down the stretch to complete the season sweep of the Erie BayHawks (13-30) on Sunday afternoon at the Portland Expo Building, 114-110.
The teams both came out cold, shooting below 40 percent in the opening quarter. Frank Gaines sunk two free throws in the opening minute before Erie went on a 9-0 run on six Terrance Jennings baskets and a Scott Suggs three pointer. Daniel Orton sandwiched a pair of dunks around a Tyshawn Taylor layup to pull to within three and Gaines went coast to coast for the dunk and the free throw to close out the quarter with Maine up 18-17.
Maine extended their lead in the second on the hot hand of Sherwood Brown, connecting on three shots from behind the arc, a put back on an offensive rebound, one of four rebounds in the frame. Taylor scored eight and Gaines added seven in the quarter. The BayHawks got balanced scoring in the period from Suggs, Cleveland Melvin and former Red Claws Justin Brownlee, who each had six. Jennings and former Red Claw Micah Downs each added five, but the Red Claws were able to take a 50-46 advantage heading into the locker room.
The Red Claws came out of the locker room with a 12-2 run, sparked by Damen Bell-Holter's three point play, a pair of baskets from Taylor, two from Gaines and two from Abdul Gaddy. Melvin scored the Erie basket during the run, which was broken by back to back baskets from Suggs and Downs before a Gaines four point play sparked an 8-2 run for Maine. Erie edged their way back into the game with Darren White and former Red Claw Marcel Anderson chipping in seven points to head into the final quarter with Maine up 82-73.
The fourth quarter saw Erie cut the lead to two on several occasions, only to see Maine find the answer. Maine connected on 12 of 18 free throws in the quarter, including 8 of 10 in the closing minutes to hold on for the four point win. The Red Claws were 30-51 from the free throw line in the game, with the 51 attempts being a new team record.
Erie's Suggs led the visitors with 23 points and five rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the BayHawks were Anderson (18), Melvin (18 points, 10 rebounds), Downs (13 points, seven assists), White (12) and Jennings (11). Leading all scorers was Red Claw Frank Gaines (31 points, six rebounds). Also contributing to the Maine win were Taylor (23 points, nine assists, seven rebounds), Orton (22 points, six rebounds, three blocks), Brown (11 points, eight rebounds) and Gaddy (10 points, seven assists). Zeke Marshall scored seven points while securing six rebounds and blocking five shots to anchor the defense.
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