Stampede Exterminate the Mad Ants

Stampede 117, Mad Ants 93 (F)

BOISE, Idaho, Jan. 17 – Seven players of the ten overall on the roster for the Idaho Stampede finished with double figures in the scoring column, as Idaho finished off the 2008 NBA D-League Showcase with a resounding 117-93 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

“I’m very proud of our effort and the way we defended the ball,” said Stampede Head Coach Bryan Gates.  “We had 17 turnovers in the first half, then we decided to take care of the ball after that and it showed.  Every one of our guys rose to the occasion, and I’m very proud of them.”

Idaho looked to squash the Mad Ants early in the game, finishing the first quarter up 30-19.  Cory Violette paced the Stampede in the period with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a three-pointer.  Violette finished the game with 19 points, and pulled down six rebounds.

The teams played even through the middle two quarters, until the Stampede got red hot in the fourth quarter, shooting 17-for-24 (70.8%) and outscoring the Mad Ants 42-28 in the period.  Mike Taylor scored 17 of his team-high 20 points off the bench in the final period, and also dished out six assists in the victory.

“We hung in there for a while.  They hurt us on the inside some, so we tried to change up the way we play pick and rolls,” said Fort Wayne Head Coach Kent Davison.  “They hit a barrage of threes on us when we were already down by 10.and it sort of broke our back.  (Idaho) played really well in the fourth quarter and it looked like we were a little tired.  That’s what happens when you’ve been on the road as much as we have, and you’re playing the (host) team. They played very well.”

Lance Allred finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for Idaho, while Mouhamed Sene, on an NBA assignment from the Seattle SuperSonics, added 14 points and 13 rebounds.  Ernest Scott was 3-for-6 from three-point range and finished with 13 points.  Randy Livingston added his twelfth double double of the season, putting in 12 points and dishing out 12 assists.  Roberto Bergersen added 11 points in the win for the Stampede.

Ron Howard, who finished with a game-high 23 points, and Walker Russell with 22 points and eight assists off the bench, paced Fort Wayne.  Corey Minnifield added 14 points and seven rebounds and Sammy Mejia contributed 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Idaho extends their winning streak to 11 games overall.