After locking up a playoff berth, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (the Pacers' G League affiliate) wrapped up the regular season last weekend, splitting a pair of games. A win in their home finale on Friday locked up the Central Division title and the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, meaning Fort Wayne earned a first-round bye in the upcoming G League playoffs.
The Mad Ants now have a week off to rest and prepare. They will host the winner of Saturday's game between the Lakeland Magic (Orlando's affiliate) and the Erie BayHawks (Atlanta's affiliate) on Tuesday, April 3 at 7:00 PM ET in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In the G League Playoffs, each of the first three rounds are single elimination and the G League Finals are a best-of-three series.
Last Friday, the Mad Ants topped the Windy City Bulls (Chicago's affiliate), 119-107, in their final home game of the regular season. DeQuan Jones led all scorers with 28 points and Walter Lemon Jr. nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists.
Three other players scored in double figures for Fort Wayne. Two-way rookie Ben Moore tallied 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds off the bench. Jarrod Uthoff — who participated in training camp with the Pacers — added 18 points and seven boards, while Stephan Hicks chipped in 18 points and five rebounds.
With their playoff seed locked up, the Mad Ants closed out the regular season a night later in Erie, where they fell to the BayHawks, 113-99. Jones, Lemon, Hicks, and two-way guard Edmond Sumner all sat out to ensure that they were healthy heading into the postseason.
Trey McKinney Jones, who recently spent time with the Pacers on a 10-day contract, scored a team-high 28 points while going 11-for-17 from the field.
Jamil Wilson added 25 points, Uthoff had 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Moore chipped in 11 points for Fort Wayne. Tra-Deon Hollins stuffed the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, 12 assists, and seven steals.
Lemon finished the regular season sixth in the G League in scoring at 22.4 points per game, while Jones (18.4 points per contest) tied for 25th. Hollins tied for third in steals at 2.2 per game, while Lemon (2.0) tied for fifth. Uthoff finished 13th in rebounding at 8.4 per contest.
Stay tuned to Pacers.com for continued updates on the Mad Ants, and make sure to check out Pacers.com/MadAntsTV » to watch Mad Ants games free online.