Steward Leads Celtics To Sweep In Wisconsin

OSHKOSH, WI – DJ Steward tied his career-high in scoring with his second 30-point outing of the season, leading the Maine Celtics to a 105-103 win over the Wisconsin Herd, their second in as many nights. 

Steward finished with 34 points and eight rebounds, also notching a career-high with 12 field goals made for Maine (14-11). JD Davison turned in 27 points, five rebounds and five assists while Drew Peterson added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 

Wenyen Gabriel led Wisconsin (12-13) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. MarJon Beauchamp and Chris Livingston each scored 16 points, with Beauchamp tallying six rebounds and seven assists. TyTy Washington Jr. logged 13 points and seven assists and Ryan Rollins scored 13 points. 

Jackson hit from 21 feet and Livingston hammered one home to give the Herd a quick 4-0 lead. Kelley got the Celtics on the board with a putback soon after, kicking off a physical, evenly matched contest out of the gates. Steward floated in an 11-footer and Peterson canned a triple as Maine scored five unanswered to gain a 15-12 lead by the first break. Wisconsin’s offense made Gabriel a focal point early on, creating good shots for him on the inside and beyond the arc to fuel an 11-4 run that put the Herd ahead, 23-19. Steward killed the momentum with a dunk, three and assist on consecutive trips, but Rollins buried a 28-footer at the buzzer to hand Wisconsin a 29-27 lead after one. 

After James Akinjo opened the second quarter with a triple, Maine scored five-straight to tie the game at 32. Davison knocked down his own three to put Maine in front, then the Celtics worked the ball inside to James Banks III with immediate success – he dropped in a couple of hooks that earned Maine a 41-41 tie at the first timeout of the frame. From there, the Celtics totally took control, finishing the frame on a 24-11 run and outscoring the Herd 38-23 across the entire second quarter. Steward led the charge with 19 first-half points while Davison and Peterson joined him in double figures as Maine rolled into the locker room with a 65-52 lead. 

Wisconsin quickly erased its 13-point halftime deficit, ripping off an 18-4 run to open the third quarter and storm back in front in a matter of six minutes. The Celtics struggled to pick up where they left off in the first half as the Herd ramped up the pace out of the intermission. Gabriel was ejected after receiving his second technical, which served as a turning point for Maine. Trailing 70-69, Davison quelled the run with a three that kicked off an 18-4 run for the Celtics, vaulting them back in front. The effortless paint touches by Steward and Davison, who each scored nine points in the quarter, generated quality offense for the Celtics. Maine led 87-74 heading into the fourth. 

The Herd scratched and clawed to get back into it in the fourth, beginning with a Malachi Smith trey that cut the deficit to 10 points. The Celtics briefly stretched the lead back out, but a 7-0 Wisconsin run pulled them within single digits not long after. Steward got himself to the 30-point mark with a layup that also made it an 11-point game, but Rollins answered with a three that made it 99-91. The score stuck there for a couple minutes, and the Herd strung together a valiant comeback effort once crunch time hit. Jackson and Washington each buried a clutch three, Beauchamp made a pair of free throws after drawing contact on a three and Washington made it a one-possession game at the line, but the Celtics did enough to hang on and sweep the back-to-back series in Oshkosh. 

Next, Maine heads down to central Florida to take on the Osceola Magic on March 5 at 7:00 PM.