Davison Drops 46 Points in 107-103 Loss to College Park

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. - A career-high 46 points by JD Davison wasn't enough as the Maine Celtics wrapped up their four-game road trip with 107-103 loss to College Park on Wednesday morning.

Maine (4-6) lost its second straight to College Park (7-3) and finished the road trip with a 1-3 record. After missing Monday's matchup with the Skyhawks, Davison did everything he could on Wednesday to will the Celtics to a series split. Davison shot 16-26 from the field including 4-7 from deep to lead Maine with 46 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Davison's previous career-high in scoring was 38 points. Jordan Schakel added 19 points and Tristan Enaruna contributed 12 for the Celtics.

Davison also made more history on Wednesday. The Two-Way Player's steal from College Park's Jordan Bowden with 6:24 to go in the second quarter was the 109th of Davison's career, putting him past Chris Wright's all-time franchise record for steals of 108.

Jarkel Joiner led the way for the Skyhawks with 21 points, connecting on 4-7 from deep as seven players scored in double figures. Dominick Barlow added 20 points on an efficient 9-13 shooting from the field. College Park shot 50% from the field as a team and had 27 assists on 41 made field goals. The Skyhawks picked up valuable contributions from their bench, which outscored Maine 44-13.

The Celtics were hoping to build off the momentum they created in the fourth quarter of Monday's game in Wednesday's opening quarter. Seven first quarter points from Davison helped Maine lead by as many as five, but the Skyhawks would answer in the final five minutes of the quarter. College Park forced five turnovers and finished the first on a 18-3 run to lead Maine 31-19.

The Skyhawks started the second quarter on a 10-2 run to claim a 41-21 lead with eight minutes to play. College Park would lead by as many as 21 in the first half as the Skyhawks dished out 15 assists on 22 made field goals. Schakel scored all eight of his first-half points in the second quarter and Davison powered Maine with 17 first-half points as the Celtics trailed College Park 60-45 at the break.

Barlow set the tone for College Park to start the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 Skyhawks points to bring their lead back up to 21. Davison and Schakel combined for 19 points as Maine outscored the Skyhawks in the quarter, 27-26. Schakel buried a triple with 7.1 seconds to go to pull Maine within 11 points, but Joiner answered with a triple of his own as the clock expired to give College park a 86-72 advantage to start the fourth quarter.

Maine outscored College Park again in the fourth quarter, 31-21, to nearly pull off the comeback win. Led by 18 points from Davison in the quarter, the Celtics cut the lead down to 10 points after Davison buried a three-pointer with 5:56 to play to score his 40th point of the game. Davison's performance marked the first time a Maine player has scored 40 points or more since March 2, 2023 when Luka Samanic scored 43 against the South Bay Lakers. Maine continued to cut into the Skyhawks lead down to the final minute. With 16.2 seconds remaining in the ballgame, a steal and score by Eric Gaines pulled Maine within three, but for the second time in three days the comeback would fall short as College Park defeated Maine 107-103.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: JD Davison was the Player of the Game after scoring a career-best 46 points on 16-26 shooting from the field. 46 points is the fifth most scored every by a Maine Celtic, and the most since Luka Samanic scored 42 in 2023. Davison also recorded two steals, making him Maine's all-time franchise record holder for steals (110). The Two-Way Player was also a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.

THE ROAD AHEAD: After the four-game road trip, Maine returns home for two games against the East Division leader, Greensboro, at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Portland Expo. The game will broadcast on NBAGLeague.com and on NBC Sports Boston.