INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana and Westchester closed their season series with a split as the Mad Ants took a 116-110 win on Monday night. Kyle Mangas scored a team high 29 points to lead Indiana while Pedro Bradshaw scored 15 points and tied a career high with 16 rebounds in the win. Indiana shot 45.2 percent from the field to 44.7 percent from Westchester. Jacob Toppin scored a game high 36 points for the Knicks.
FIRST QUARTER
Indiana shot out to a 10-2 lead with Westchester answering with a 4-0 run of their own including a couple of major defensive rebounds from Jacob Toppin. After the Knicks cut it down to 12-9, Indiana put a pair of free throws on the board to extend their lead again to 16-9 in the first. With 4:51 to go Abdullah Ahmed’s three pulled Westchester within one at 18-17 and Toppin’s three on the next possession gave the Knicks a 20-18 advantage as they were on a 9-0 run that Jordan Bell ended with 3:40 to play. After one, Westchester led 34-24 behind 21 points from Toppin.
SECOND QUARTER
The Mad Ants again started the second quarter first with a quick bucket from Isaiah Wong followed by a three pointer, and-one, from Kyle Mangas to make it 34-30, still in the Knicks’ favor. None the less, it was another 10-2 run to start a quarter on Pedro Bradshaw’s free throw with 9:47 to play in the second to make it 36-34 for Westchester. After Indiana tied it at 36 on a 12-2 run, Westchester pushed out to a 9-0 run of their own with a Toppin and-one to make it 45-36. At the half, Westchester led 65-57.
THIRD QUARTER
With 8:45 to play, a floater from Bell cut the Mad Ants deficit to 69-66 and then Bradshaw scored to cut the Knicks lead to one. Mangas came out of a timeout with a basket to give Indiana the lead back at 70-69 and then Mangas got fouled on a three on the next Indiana possession, hitting the free throw to make it 73-69 for the Mad Ants. A Reid Travis three pointer and dunk from Bell pushed Indiana to a 21-4 start to the third quarter, up 78-69, with just under six minutes to play. After three, Indiana led 93-84.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Knicks scored the first four points of the fourth, including a free throw from Toppin which were his first points of the second half after scoring 30 in the first half and going scoreless in the third quarter. But a pair of baskets from Darius McGhee kept things rolling for Indiana, leading 98-88 with 10 minutes to play. A Jaylen Martin three with 5:35 to play cut Westchester’s deficit to 102-96 with Brandon Goodwin’s three at 4:25 cutting Indiana’s lead to just three. With 1:25 to play, Craig Sword ended a scoreless streak for both teams with a three before Goodwin answered immediately on the other end with a triple of his own; Indiana still led 109-108. Sword then hit from the opposite corner to push Indiana’s lead to four.
Behind Mangas and Bradshaw, Bell and Sword each added 14 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Goodwin scored 22 points for the Knicks and Jaylen Martin added 17.
Originally posted on gleague.nba.com