For the second time in five days, Alade Aminu was the focal point in an Erie BayHawks victory. The Georgia Tech product was a force on both ends of the court, dominating the paint and controlling glass, leading the BayHawks to a 100-70 thumping of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The win improves the BayHawks to 7-12 while the Mad Ants fall to 7-11.
Aminu played a team-high 45 minutes and made the most of his time on the floor, scoring 30 points on 11-17 shooting that included a variety of post moves and putbacks. He had 6 offensive rebounds to go along with 9 defensive. On the defensive end, he also added 3 blocks and 2 steals.
While Aminu helped the BayHawks put this game away, it was Cedric Jackson that got the BayHawks on the right track in this one. After the team scored just 13 points in the first quarter Saturday night, Jackson scored 13 in the first quarter all by himself on Sunday, while also dishing out 3 assists. He finished the game with a great all-around statline: 21 points on 7-10 shooting, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 turnovers. He was also mainly responsible for frustrating former BayHawk Oliver Lafayette, who finished 1-8 with just 4 assists for the Mad Ants.
It was a great offensive performance for the BayHawks after a miserable one the night before. Their shooting went from 35 to 50 percent, including 4-10 from 3-point range. Defensively, give some credit to Erie as they were more active on that end. But also chalk some of that up to Fort Wayne playing the second day of a back-to-back on the road in less than 24 hours. The Mad Ants shot a lowly 31 percent from the field, including 5-20 from downtown.
John Bryant is madly in love with the pick-and-pop jumpshot from just outside the free throw line. He's got a nice touch for a big man, and hits the shot at a high percentage, but he can't allow himself to become one dimensional. It was a good effort from him on the night as he notched another double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He also added 2 blocked shots.
On the Mad Ants side, what happened to Jared Reiner? The Fort Wayne center dominated the matchup Saturday night, but he played less than 24 minutes in this one, scoring just 8 points on 3-10 shooting. I saw that he came out of the locker room late at halftime, so maybe there was some sort of injury issue. If so, that could spell trouble for the Mad Ants, who were once again without Rob Kurz, who missed the each of the games in Erie with a back injury.
The BayHawks once again suited just nine players. Word on the street is that Frank Tolbert is headed to Erie to replace Booker Woodfox on the BayHawks' roster. The BayHawks started a lineup with Bryant at center, Aminu at power forward, Mike Gansey and Jackie Manuel on the wings, and Cedric Jackson at the point. I think that's Erie's best five going forward with Ivan Harris potentially taking minutes from Manuel/Gansey as the sixth man depending on the game situation.
Looking ahead, Erie trails Fort Wayne by just one game in the loss column with another rematch coming up in Erie Wednesday night. The BayHawks will try to win two straight at home for the first time this season as they continue to try to dig themselves out of this early season hole.
0 comments:
Post a Comment