by WHITE PLAINS, New York – The Westchester Knicks (9-24), the official NBA Development League of the New York Knickerbockers, fell to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (21-14) in Westchester tonight by a score of 109-87.
The Knicks started off with a 5-0 run in the first two minutes, holding the lead in the first six minutes of the quarter. After three ties and a bout of bad passes from both teams, the lead would then belong to the Mad Ants for the remainder of the game.
Leading by eight to start the second quarter, the Mad Ants connected on 57 percent of their shots while the Knicks only hit 7-of-22 attempts. Thanasis Antetokounmpo spiked down a monster block in the middle of the second quarter, one of his three blocks in the half, in an attempt to change the momentum for the Knicks. It could not slow down Mad Ants forward Andre Emmett though, who put up 14 points in the second quarter with a total of 21 at the half.
Trouble from beyond the arc plagued both teams in the third, the Knicks connecting on just 1-of-6 attempts, the Mad Ants 1-of-5. Westchester picked up the pace a bit, winning the quarter 21-18. But the damage from the first half still lingered, the Mad Ants at one point holding a 17 point lead over the Knicks. Westchester also lost the dynamism of Antetokounmpo, who came out of the game visibly in pain.
Fort Wayne would continue to stretch the lead in the final quarter, coming away with a 22 point lead to win the game. Both teams were strong in the paint, the Mad Ants with 50 points, the Knicks with 40. Fort Wayne outshot Westchester on both field goals and three point attempts, although the Knicks were an impressive 17-of-18 from the line.
Center Jordan Bachynski paced Westchester with 15 points, also contributing eight rebounds a block. Ben Strong (Red Lake Nation) continued his double-double streak, posting 13 points and 12 rebounds, also adding a block. Darnell Jackson and Andre Barrett rounded out the double-digit scoring; Jackson with 14, Barrett with 10.
For the Mad Ants, Andre Emmett finished the night with a game-high 28 points, connecting on 10-of-18 shots. CJ Fair came off the bench to contribute 19 points, also producing three steals. Ramon Harris and Trey McKinney-Jones both added 11 points and a combined 11 rebounds.
