The Fort Wayne Mad Ants split their last four games evenly, one at the NBA Development League showcase in Ontario before returning to the United States.
After looking so-so at the NBA Development League Showcase in Mississauga, Ontario — thanks in part to throwing Rakeem Christmas and Joe Young into the lineup — the Fort Wayne Mad Ants returned to the United States and won two of their next three games.
That makes a sandwich where the two losses are the bread while the wins are the meat and cheese if you will.
Alex Poythress led the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Maine Red Claws in Ontario. Stephan Hicks led the scoring for the Mad Ants that night with 25 points.
But Fort Wayne got things back on track after the Showcase.
Once again Poythress was leading the charge as they took down the Erie BayHawks 114-111. Poythress had another double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Hicks led the scoring once again with 28 points. They need all those points to rally for the win over Erie.
In their next game against the Windy City Bulls, it was the Mad Ants that had to stop their opponent from rallying for a late comeback.
It was a more even-handed effort by Fort Wayne as seven of the eight Mad Ants that saw the floor scored in double-digits. The only player who didn’t was newcomer Adam Woodbury.
Trey McKinney-Jones and Jordan Loyd led the Mad Ants in scoring with 18 points each, followed by Hicks with 17, Poythress with 16, Travis Leslie with 12, and Ben Bentil and Alex Zeisloft scoring 11 each.
But their luck ran out against the Canton Charge, falling 124-115.
Once again McKinney-Jones was the Mad Ants star, scoring 29 points on 12 of 19 shooting.
The loss leaves the Mad Ants at 17-10, second place in the NBA Development League’s Central Divison. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Next: 8p9s Roundtable: Resetting Expectations for the Pacers
The Mad Ants will be in action again on February 2nd when they host the BayHawks at 11 a.m.