Stars Out Shoot Celtics At Showcase

ORLANDO – The Maine Celtics wrapped up the Showcase with its second-largest loss of the season, falling 122-99 to a Salt Lake City Stars squad that shot 56.6% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. 

Jordan Walsh led Maine with 19 points and three 3-pointers. JD Davison added 16 points, four rebounds and five assists. Kylor Kelley had 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while Taylor Funk posted 11 and six rebounds. Jordan Schakel finished with 10 points in his return from a two-game injury absence. Jordan Jackson tied his career-best with seven points and swiped two steals. 

Johnny Juzang dropped 29 points on 10-16 from the field and 7-10 from distance, adding five rebounds and four assists for Salt Lake City. Brice Sensabaugh turned in 20 points on 8-12 shooting and Nick Ongenda added 12 and six rebounds. Micah Potter notched 11 points and 11 rebounds and Josh Christopher tallied 10 points, four rebounds and eight assists. Romeo Langford scored eight points. 

Christopher rose up for a jumper in the middle of the paint to open the scoring and Schakel laid one in to get Maine on the board soon after. The Celtics went up in the opening minutes, but Salt Lake City jumped ahead with a 7-0 run and never looked back. Sensabaugh got going with five points as the Stars took a 14-9 lead into the first timeout, and eventually building the run to 17-4. Donald Carey Jr. checked in to the action and sank a high-arching corner three to cap off a quick 7-2 run that got the Celtics within 10, though Juzang responded with a couple threes that widened Salt Lake City’s gap to 16, 38-22 by the end of the first quarter. 

The Stars remained in control in the second, Maine was unable to generate many paint touches and the 34-24 scoring discrepancy inside the arc contributed to the quick start out of the gates for the Stars. Sensabaugh and Juzang combined for 30 points and six made 3-pointers in the first half, powering Salt Lake City’s offense to a 60.5% mark and 9-16 from beyond the arc as a team that had them ahead by almost 20 points for much of the frame. Maine mustered an 8-2 run to get within 14, but the Stars stiff armed the Celtics in the closing minutes to take a commanding 63-42 lead into the locker room. 

Walsh was the driving force for Maine with seven points in the third, but the Stars couldn’t miss. Hovering near 60% from the field for the entire quarter, a three from Potter off an assist from Christopher made it a 25-point game, 76-51. Salt Lake City kept its foot on the gas, ripping off a 10-0 run as the lead ballooned to 30 points, 81-51 on Isaiah Miller’s and-one free throw. The Celtics were outscored 31-21 in the quarter after Davison’s three-point play made it 94-63 after three. 

It was much of the same in the fourth quarter. The Stars set the pace and kept shooting the lights out as Sensabaugh and Christopher pushed the lead to as high as 39 points, 106-67. Walsh breathed a bit of life into the Celtics early in the frame and Jackson made a couple plays later on, but the Stars had already built a cushion more than large enough to put it on autopilot down the stretch. 

The Celtics open the regular season on Dec. 27 in Oklahoma City versus the Blue. Maine’s first home game of the regular season is at 1:00 PM on Dec. 31 against the Grand Rapids Gold.