Celtics Open Road Trip With Win In Wisconsin

OSHKOSH, WI – Led by DJ Steward in his 18^th 20-point performance of the season, the Maine Celtics ended up with five scorers in double figures as they defeated the Wisconsin Herd, 117-108. 

Steward finished with 25 points on 9-12 shooting, adding four rebounds for Maine (13-11). Jordan Walsh added 20 points and eight rebounds and JD Davison tallied 19 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Drew Peterson turned in 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Joe Wieskamp scored 12 points. 

Wenyen Gabriel led Wisconsin (12-12) with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Chris Livingston had 18 points, six rebounds and four steals and TyTy Washington Jr. logged 17 points and 11 assists. Elijah Hughes posted 12 points and Ryan Rollins added 11 points. 

Neemias Queta tipped in a miss on the opening possession and Davison finished a nice layup on the next trip to get the Celtics off and running with a 4-0 lead. Steward checked in minutes later and hit a couple of short jumpers to put Maine ahead 12-7 – from there, the Herd ripped off a 10-2 run to go up by three. Brandon Slater sank a 19-footer to quell the run for Maine, which kicked off an 11-0 run that put them back in front, 25-17. After a physical opening quarter, the Celtics emerged with a 57.7% mark from the field that resulted in a 34-23 advantage for Maine after one. 

The Celtics held their double-digit lead through the early portion of the second. The Herd got within six off five unanswered points from Hughes before Queta hit Walsh off the short roll for a corner three to lengthen the lead back out to nine, 39-30. Relying on its calling card of defense and shooting, Maine forced tough shots and turnovers all half, got out in transition and generated open looks at the rim and beyond the arc. With the help of 18 first-half points on 7-8 shooting from Steward, the Celtics took a commanding 69-51 lead into the intermission. 

Following Queta’s exit due to injury early in the third, Davison finished at the rim and then dropped a pass off to a streaking Kylor Kelley, who finished off the fastbreak with a thunderous dunk to push the lead north of the 20-point mark. Maine cruised through the majority of the third, still shooting just as efficiently and continuing to force Wisconsin into long possessions ending with difficult shots. Davison shot 3-4 and put up nine points and three assists in the third, helping Maine take a 91-73 lead into the final frame. 

Steward and Walsh produced much of the offense early in the fourth as Maine tried to put the game away as soon as possible. The Celtics answered every push made by the Herd all night long, up until a frantic comeback in crunch time – a 9-2 run brought Wisconsin within single digits, but the lead Maine built to that point proved insurmountable. Despite a strong push from the Herd in the closing minutes, the Celtics held on for their second-straight win. 

The Celtics and Herd finish off a back-to-back set tomorrow evening. Maine then hits the road for a matchup with the Osceola Magic on March 5.