Fort Wayne 117, Bakersfield 114

Bakersfield, Calif., Feb. 20 – Earl Calloway’s two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining helped the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to eke out a 117-114 victory over the Bakersfield Jam on Wednesday night. 

The Jams' Andre Barrett’s potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed in and out to allow the Mad Ants to escape with the road win.

Calloway, Dirk Minnifield and Cheikh Samb scored 22 points apiece to lead a balanced Mad Ants attack.

Barrett led all scorers with 35 points.

Bakersfield jumped out to a 37-32 lead after the first period, setting the tone for a high-scoring, closely contested game that saw 13 lead changes and 11 ties. 

The Jam took their largest lead of the game late in the second quarter, 60-50, before heading into the break with a 66-61 advantage.  The Mad Ants controlled the third quarter, outscoring Bakersfield, 29-20, to take a four-point lead after three periods, 90-86.

The fourth quarter began with the Mad Ants continuing their run, taking their largest lead of the contest, 102-92 at the 9:26 mark. 

Barrett took over for the Jam, scoring eight points during an 11-0 run giving Bakersfield a one-point advantage, 103-102. 

The lead changed hands six times in the final seven minutes before the Mad Ants took the lead for good on aMinnifield lay-up with 15.3 seconds remaining.

Calloway added 14 assists and Samb had 13 rebounds for the Mad Ants.