Maine Celtics Surge To Win In Second Half

PORTLAND, ME – Despite a season-low seven made three-pointers and a 21.2% mark from beyond the arc, the Maine Celtics locked down defensively to earn a 112-92 victory over the Indiana Mad Ants. 

Dalano Banton led Maine (3-4) with 28 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. Drew Peterson tallied 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. DJ Steward posted 19 points, four rebounds and four assists and Neemias Queta added 12 and seven rebounds. Rob Edwards notched 11 points and three steals while Jordan Walsh had 11 and eight rebounds, including five offensive rebounds. 

Stephan Hicks paced Indiana (4-3) with 16 points. Kyle Mangas chipped in 14, six rebounds and eight assists, Darius McGhee scored 13 and Jordan Bell, Pedro Bradshaw and Will Vorhees all added 10 points. 

Queta directed the opening tip to Banton, and Banton returned the favor with a lob pass to the big man to open the scoring. Maine got out to an early 9-3 lead with the Boston quartet leading the charge before Indiana fired back with an 8-0 run. Steward and Snell helped Maine retake the lead as the Celtics held Indiana to 5-14 from the field to start the contest. Banton found Edwards for a skyscraping lob, then tossed another to Queta – the Boston assignee formed a connection with his new teammates right away. The Celtics led 22-16 after one, the fewest points scored by an opponent in any quarter this regular season. 

The whistles picked up a bit to open the second frame as three fouls were called in the first two minutes and change. An 8-3 run from Indiana tied it back up – both teams shot 25% or lower from three and 40% or lower from the floor for the majority of what became a defensive grind in the first half. Vorhees’ above-the-break triple edged the Mad Ants back in front, and they stayed in control for a few minutes before Peterson nudged Maine ahead with a driving layup. Tied at 38 with 4:20 to go in the half, the Mad Ants ripped off an 8-0 run, then the Celtics responded with a 5-0 run to get back within a possession. After trading buckets to close the quarter, Indiana took a 52-48 lead into the locker room. 

The Celtics got within two soon after the third quarter began, but McGhee’s four-point play widened the gap. From there, it was all Maine in the third quarter – Peterson sank a tough floater, Edwards grabbed a steal and hammered home an open-court dunk, and suddenly Maine was back in front, 62-61. That started a 16-2 run for the Celtics, which gave them a nine-point advantage, before another open-court steal and finish from Edwards put Maine up a dozen, 78-66. The Celtics shot 52% as a team, forced eight turnovers and outscored Indiana 36-15 to take an 84-70 lead into the final frame. 

The Maine lead quickly expanded to 20 points, 90-70 by the nine-minute mark of the fourth with the Mad Ants needing to make a push. McGhee hit a pair of triples to pull Indiana within 20 and Jordan Bell’s 1-for-1 free throw cut the deficit to 17, 104-87, but that was as close as the Mad Ants would get down the stretch. The Celtics kept the pressure on until the final buzzer sounded, cruising to a 112-92 victory, marking the fifth time Maine has held an opponent under 100 points this season. 

The Celtics and Mad Ants round out a weekend back-to-back at the Expo tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 14 at 2:00 PM.