The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers' G League affiliate, continued their six-game homestand over the past week, splitting a pair of games at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The Mad Ants fell to the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's affiliate, last Friday, 117-111. Stephan Hicks led Fort Wayne with 29 points in the loss on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Pacers two-way guard Davon Reed added 26 points while going 9-for-18 from the field, 2-for-7 from 3-point range, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Second-year Pacers center Ike Anigbogu logged just 25 points due to foul trouble, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds. Omari Johnson, a Pacers training camp invitee, also finished in double figures with 15 points.
The Mad Ants bounced back on Monday night, rallying from a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to force overtime in then prevailing over the Grand Rapids Drive (the Pistons' affiliate) in the extra period, 108-101.
Anigbogu had a monster night in the victory. The 6-10 center scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, pulled down 15 rebounds (10 of them on the offensive glass), and blocked four shots.
Rookie Rob Gray scored a season-high 28 points off the bench for Fort Wayne, Hicks added 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Reed and Johnson added 11 points each.
The Mad Ants are now 6-6 on the season. As of Tuesday morning, they are just a half-game back of the Canton Charge (the Cavaliers' affiliate) for first place in the Central Division.
Anigbogu ranks among the G League leaders in multiple categories. As of Tuesday morning, he is ninth in rebounding (10.9 per game), third in offensive rebounds (4.5 per contest), and tied for 10th in blocks (1.9 per game).
The Mad Ants close out their homestand by hosting the Westchester Knicks (New York's affiliate) on Thursday, then hit the road to take on the Oklahoma City Blue (the Thunder's affiliate) on Saturday night.
Stay tuned to Pacers.com for continued updates on the Mad Ants, and make sure to check out Pacers.com/MadAntsTV » to watch select Mad Ants games for free online.