by RESILIENT WESTCHESTER KNICKS ZAPPED BY ENERGY
WHITE PLAINS, New York – The Westchester Knicks (8-14) were unable to catch up to the Iowa Energy (9-10), the official NBA Development League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, falling 108-97 in Des Moines.
Westchester lost a starter early in forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who would later re-enter the game, but the damage would show itself as the Energy ran up the score on the Knicks by as much as 18 points in the first quarter. The second quarter was not any better for the orange and blue, the Knicks finding themselves down 23 points with just over three minutes left in the half. Westchester cut the lead to single digits with under a minute to go off a three pointer from guard Andre Barrett.
Consistent shooting from Iowa would win the game for the Energy against a Knicks team unable to draw alongside their opponent. The Knicks’ only lead in the game came in the first thirty seconds, when it was 3-2 Westchester off a shot from Andrew Barrett. Eighteen turnovers would plague Westchester, who shot a mere 25 percent from beyond the arc.
Darnell Jackson led the Knicks in scoring with 18 points, also adding eight rebounds. Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Andre Barrett had 17 points apiece; Antetokounmpo just missing the double-double with nine rebounds. Marcus Ginyard, Todd Mayo, and Ben Strong (Red Lake Nation) rounded out the double digit scorers for Westchester 10 points and he pulled down 8 rebounds.
Iowa’s Damien Wilkins had a monster night, collecting 30 points, four of which came from three point land. Larry Owens added 22 points along with six rebounds and four assists. Kalin Lucas had 22 points and Ferrakohn Hall found the double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Westchester Knicks continue on to Santa Cruz, CA for the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase. The league’s premiere in-season scouting event, the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase presented by Samsung affords players and coaches the opportunity to flaunt their skills in front of general managers and player personnel executives from all 30 NBA teams. The Westchester Knicks will face the Reno Bighorns on Friday, January 16th at 10:00 p.m. ET and will play the Oklahoma City Blue on Monday, January 19th at 3:45 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the action on NBA TV.
