The Pacers' G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, went 1-2 in last week, dropping games to Westchester and Erie before snapping a four-game losing streak with a narrow victory over the Grand Rapids Drive on Saturday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Fort Wayne is now 12-10 on the season and in second place in the Central Division, two games back of the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee's affiliate).
The Mad Ants began the week by hosting the Westchester Knicks (New York's affiliate) last Tuesday. Westchester shot 52 percent from the field en route to a 129-116 victory over Fort Wayne. DeQuan Jones — who participated in training camp with the Pacers last fall — led the Mad Ants with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the loss.
Walter Lemon Jr. had 22 points and seven assists, while Stephan Hicks added 20 points and nine rebounds.
Two days later, the Mad Ants braved the winter weather to travel to Erie for a matchup with the BayHawks (Atlanta's affiliate). Behind double-doubles from second-year Hawks forward DeAndre' Bembry (on assignment in the G League) and NBA veteran Jeremy Evans, the BayHawks came away with a 111-104 win.
Jarrod Uthoff, another Pacers training camp participant, led the Mad Ants with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three assists. C.J. Fair added 19 points and six rebounds, while Trey McKinney-Jones (another training camp invitee) chipped in 18 points off the bench.
The Mad Ants finally got back in the win column on Saturday night. Wearing Rugrats-inspired uniforms for '90s Night, Fort Wayne bested the Grand Rapids Drive (Detroit's affiliate), 118-117. Lemon led all scorers with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting and also dished out five assists in the victory.
Jones and Hicks both added 20 points for the Mad Ants, while rookie forward Ben Moore (yet another Pacers training camp participant) had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds off the bench.
As of Wednesday morning, Lemon ranked sixth in the G League in scoring at 23 points per game, tied for 13th in assists at 6.5 per contest, and tied for sixth in steals at 2.1 per game. Uthoff is 33rd in scoring (17.6 points per game), tied for 18th in rebounding (8.3 per contest), and tied for 17th in blocks (1.4 per game).
The Mad Ants play twice this weekend, hosting the Windy City Bulls (Chicago's affiliate) on Friday and the Lakeland Magic (Orlando's affiliate) on Sunday. Pacers rookie center Ike Anigbogu will join the Mad Ants on assignment for both of those contests.
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.