Cruise Fall at the Hands of Lakeland

It has been quite the ride for Motor City over the last few weeks. They would ride on the whims of a 6-game win streak before Raptors 905 defeated them. Now, the Cruise look to get back in the win column to see if they can pick up steam down the stretch.

Never Count Them out

Motor City battled early on in this one, going back and forth with the Magic. There was one thing that was clear, and that was the fact that they would have to find a way to limit Jay Scrubb. Several minutes into the game, Scrubb went for 10 points.

A 5-0 Lakeland run put Motor City in a bit of a hole down 14-21, all at the hands of Scrubb. The Magic didn’t let up as they held a 30-16 lead late in the quarter, with Kevon Harris doing much of the damage. Motor City would look up at the scoreboard down 24-40 after one, wondering what just hit them. The two-man show of Scrubb (17 points) and Harris (15 points) did most of the damage for Lakeland.

The Cruise, as they’ve showed time and time again, will not go down easy. They finally put together a big run of their own to get right back in it. Several minutes into the second, they had the lead down to 39-53. Kyler Edwards was the spark they needed as he would get going to start the quarter.

Motor City just continued to climb right back in this game. Led by their defense and some timely buckets, the Cruise had cut the lead down to single digits (49-57) with just a few minutes left in the half. What a welcome sign it was to have Keifer Sykes back. He went on a tear to end the half, helping Motor City trail 56-61.

Coming out with Urgency

It was clear Motor City wanted this one, and they climbed right back with a chance to take it. A Buddy Boeheim three-pointer just minutes into the second half had this thing up 64-64 as the Cruise kept swinging the momentum their way.

A 12-3 run led by a barrage of three-pointers would swing it right back the Magic’s way as they regained an 82-73 lead. Motor City wasn’t going anywhere. However, they settled things down enough to be trailing just 85-90 after three. Scrubb was at it again as he helped Lakeland with 9 points in the quarter. Stanley Umude (10 points) and ShawnDre Jones (7 points) helped the Cruise stay in this thing.

The start of the fourth quarter sparked absolute doom for Motor City. The duo of Zavier Simpson and Joel Ayayi had the Magic off and running again. After several minutes of play, the Cruise would find themselves down big at 92-108.

When you have a team that shows their toughness as much as Motor City does, you know they’ll find ways to get back in the game. And that they did. A small 5-0 had the Lakeland lead cut back to eleven with plenty of time remaining. They wouldn’t be able to cut into it any further, though, as the Magic dug in and had their offense going again. The Cruise went on to drop this one, 108-123.

The Numbers

Lakeland was led by Jay Scrubb, who was just an absolute nightmare for the Cruise. He dropped 35 points with 5 rebounds as he led the charge for much of the night for the Magic. Kevon Harris was big with 25 points (9-14 from the floor), 5 rebounds and 5 assists. For Wolverine, Zavier Simpson did nearly everything on the night to finish with 18 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

Joel Ayayi was sensational off the Magic bench with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Another former Wolverine in Caleb Houstan added 11 points (3 three-pointers) and 6 rebounds. Robert Baker added 6 points and 11 rebounds.

Stanley Umude had one of his best games of the year off the Cruise bench to finish with 25 points (8-11 from the field). Jared Rhoden helped with 23 points and 5 assists. Buddy Boeheim struggled from the field, but still pitched in 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Keifer Sykes and Kyler Edwards both add 11-points apiece. Jaylen Johnson put together a tremendous night as he finished with a triple-double (10 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists). ShawnDre Jones had his moments as he pitched in 7 points, while Ryan Turrell added 5 in limited minutes.

Up Next

Lakeland struggled in the month of February, but with how they looked tonight, teams will have to be careful with them. They’ll look to see if they can put together a win streak in their next outing March 5 against Grand Rapids. The Magic move to 11-11 on the season with the win.

It was another solid month for Motor City as they finished February 6-4. They have come back into the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. While they lost a little steam, they look to get back on track against Grand Rapids on March 2. The opportunities are there as teams in the playoff conversation haven’t been able to put any space between them. The Cruise ended the month at 11-13 on the season.