Celtics Ring in the New Year with 102-95 Win Over Texas

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Maine Celtics rang in the New Year with a gritty, 102-95 win over the Texas Legends on Tuesday afternoon.

Maine improves to 2-1 after winning the regular season home opener in front of a sellout crowd at the Portland Expo. Including Tip-Off Tournament play, the Celtics have now won four of their last five contests. Texas falls to 0-2 in the regular season.

The Celtics were led by 25 points, seven assists, and five rebounds from Baylor Scheierman. Maine's bench was also key once again, outscoring the Legends 52-11 behind 18 points from Jay Scrubb and 17 points by Ron Harper Jr. Scrubb was a key catalyst to Maine's defense with five steals and two blocked shots. Jordan Schakel added three steals on a day that saw the Celtics force 24 turnovers on defense.

The Celtics and Legends were both shorthanded for the New Years Eve matchup. Maine was without two of their Two-Way Players in JD Davison and Drew Peterson. Donald Carey Jr., Dmytro Skapintsev, and Eric Gaines were also out for the Celtics on Tuesday. Texas was without their top scorer in Brandon Williams, along with their other Two-Way Players, Kessler Edwards and Jazian Gortman.

The Legends were led by a game-high 29 point, nine rebound effort from Phillip Wheeler. Jordan Henderson and Jarod Lucas each added 15 points for Texas. Jamarion Sharp posted a double-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Texas struck first, scoring the first ten points of the game to claim a 10-0 lead four minutes into the first quarter. After Celtics Head Coach Tyler Lashbrook called timeout, Scheierman connected from deep off the out of bounds play to strike first for Maine. Scheierman found his rhythm, hitting another triple on the next possession to pull Maine within four. Staying on trend with the last four games, Harper Jr. entered the game and provided a spark off the bench. Harper Jr. buried two triples as Maine fought back and tied the game at 18 with 3:49 to play. Led by nine first quarter points from Henderson, Texas answered with a 10-0 run and led Maine 28-20 after one.

Maine turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter, but would only give it up five times for the rest of the game. After both teams traded baskets for the first half of the second quarter, Maine tied it up again with 5:27 to play on a alley-oop from Scheierman to Tristan Enaruna in transition to make it 35-35. After a Texas timeout, London Johnson showed what he can do on defense. Johnson hounded Tommy Bruner at halfcourt, forcing a turnover by Bruner. The effort didn't go wasted. On Maine's next offensive possession, Scheierman dialed one up from the top of the arc to give Maine their first lead of the game. Another three by Johnson moments later grew the lead to six for the Celtics as the crowd rose to their feet at the Expo. Maine won the turnover battle 6-0 in the second quarter as the Legends and Celtics entered the break tied at 50 apiece. Wheeler was the game's leading scorer through two quarters with 16 points on an efficient 7-8 shooting from the field. Scheierman led Maine with 15 first-half points on 6-10 shooting.

Maine started the third quarter on a shooting drought, making just three of their first 10 shots through six minutes. Despite the offensive struggles, stingy Celtics defense kept Maine with two of the Legends. Texas went on an 8-0 run in the next 90 seconds to tie their largest lead of the game at 71-61. Like the first half, Maine looked to their defense, and spurred a 13-2 run to reclaim the lead, 74-73 with under a minute remaining in the third. Texas struck last in the quarter and carried a narrow 75-74 lead into the fourth quarter.

Nail-biting finishes have become a common occasion at the Portland Expo. Maine's last two home games featured a one-point difference in the final score, and Tuesday's game would also come down to the wire. Both of those games were one-point losses for the Celtics, but on Tuesday the Celtics had a gritty performance on display for a sellout crowd. Tied at 83 with 6:00 minutes remaining, Maine took control of the game with an 8-0 run to lead 91-83. The lead was short lived, with Texas rallying back to make it a one-point game with 2:30 remaining. The difference down the stretch was the Celtics defense. Maine forced eight turnovers in the fourth quarter alone (five steals) and outscored Texas 10-4 in the final two minutes to secure a 102-95 victory.

MEMIC Injury Report for Maine: Don Carey, Jr. (ankle) - OUT JD Davison (calf) - OUT Eric Gaines (ankle) - OUT Dmytro Skapintsev (ankle) - OUT

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Baylor Scheierman was the Player of the Game after the Boston Celtics assignee scored a team-high 25 points on 9-17 shooting, including 6-14 from three. Scheierman also dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds.

THE ROAD AHEAD: In the next 33 days, Maine will play 16 games, with 13 of those at home, including Tuesday's win against Texas. Next up, the Celtics will battle Wisconsin on Thursday January 2 and again on Friday January 3. Both games will tip-off at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.