PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Red Claws, got a near triple-double from Boston Celtics assignee Terry Rozier, but ultimately couldn’t overcome an 18-point halftime deficit against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Saturday night at the Portland Expo Building, falling 103-94.
The Red Claws were able to cut it to two points late in the fourth, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
After a Rozier basket opened the game for Maine (13-12), Fort Wayne (12-12) went on a nine- point run, bookended by a pair of CJ Fair baskets. James Young, also on assignment from the Celtics, hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 17-4 run, with Coty Clarke scoring 10 in that span to take a 19-13 lead.
Fair again bookended a nine point run to end the quarter with the Mad Ants leading 22-19. Terran Petteway’s 3-pointer at the 59.1 mark of the quarter gave Fort Wayne the lead for good.
The Mad Ants were able to pull away in the second with very tight defense, holding the Red Claws to 5-14 shooting and 0-6 from deep while converting 11 field goals of their own and all six of their free throws in the quarter. Petteway chipped in 11 off the bench, with John Lucas III and Walter Lemon Jr. each scoring six.
Maine got six from Ralph Sampson III and four from Corey Walden off the bench as the hosts headed into the locker room trailing 51-35.
The Red Claws came out strong in the second half, converting 9-20 shots including 4-9 from downtown and 7-7 from the free throw line to chip away at the Mad Ants lead. Rozier had seven and Walden, Young and RJ Hunter, who is also on assignment from the Celtics, each had five.
Fair and Rakeem Christmas, on assignment from the Indiana Pacers, led Fort Wayne in the quarter with eight and six, respectivel, as the Red Claws cut the deficit to 76-64 going into the final frame.
Maine opened the fourth with a 12-5 run with Sampson, Omari Johnson, Hunter and Clarke providing the spark and chopping the lead to 81-76. Lucas and Hunter traded baskets and Petteway drained a three before Rozier and Hunter scored six straight to get back within one at 85-84.
Fair and Christmas provided the answers for Fort Wayne down the stretch, however, as they made several baskets to quell the Red Claws run. With time running out, Maine sent the Mad Ants to the foul line where they converted 5-6 in the final 39 seconds to seal the victory and snap a five- game losing skid one night after the Red Claws snapped their own four-game slide.
Petteway (23 points, six rebounds) led all scorers. Fair (22 points, eight rebounds, three blocks), Christmas (18 points, seven rebounds), Lucas III (16 points, five assists) and Lemon Jr. (13 points, nine rebounds, five steals) were the top performers for Fort Wayne.
Clarke (20 points, six rebounds, three blocks) led the way for Maine. Rozier (17 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists), Hunter (15), Sampson III (12 points, five rebounds, three blocks) and Walden (11) round out the Claws in double figures.