Wassup in Westchester: W-Knicks fall to .500 with loss to the Mad Ants

Hey there: This recap comes from Seth Abbott, Westchester expert.

Last night at the Westchester County Center the D-League Knicks took on the Indiana Pacers affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. After demolishing the first place Maine Red Claws on Tuesday night with their best defensive game of the year, the Knicks had high hopes for staying over .500. Before tip-off, big brother Knicks recalled Marshall Plumlee and Maurice Ndour to the Garden, leaving Westchester with a true D-League line-up in game number two of the post-Chasson Randle era.

Alex Poythress had a game high 35 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Mad Ants. Trey McKinney-Jones finished with 28 points, 4 rebounds and shot an impressive 17-17 from the free-throw line. Stephan Hicks was strong defensively and finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Guard Julyan Stone was 2 points shy of a triple-double with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Keith Wright led the Knicks with a career-high 23 points, adding 11 rebounds and 3 steals. Courtney Fells had a strong first half and poured in 17 points, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds, while Doron Lamb picked it up in the second half and finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds. Damien Inglis had a good all-around game contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Von Wafer came off the bench for 16 points all in the first half. Kevin Capers in the backup point guard position contributed 11 points and 6 assists.

The Knicks could not hold onto the first half lead as Westchester gave up 39 fourth-quarter points and lost 119-111. Defense was a few steps slow leading to 33 fouls, contributing to the Mad Ants finishing them off late in the game. Westchester was out-rebounded 51-39 and couldn’t keep up with Fort Wayne’s stellar 82% shooting from the free throw line.