Cruise Grab Back-to-Back Wins over Wisconsin

The Motor City Cruise were back on Wednesday with a chance to knock off the Bucks again. With a win, Motor City would pick up their first back-to-back wins on the season.

Coming out Firing

They were back and forth to start this one as both teams were really feeling each other out. Then the Cruise would catch fire late as they took a 24-20 (9-2 run) lead in the first with just 3:10 remaining. It would continue as the Cruise were able to gain some big momentum heading into the second quarter with a 34-24 lead. Elijah Hughes kept the Bucks in it by scoring 9 in the quarter. Jared Rhoden was really able to score from every level to begin the game as he led the Cruise with 7 points to that point.

Wisconsin settled in, however as they put together a 9-4 run that cut the lead back to single digits just midway through the quarter. Right after that, the Bucks continued their run to take a 1-point lead with about 5:07 remaining in the opening half. The Cruise responded by going on a 7-0 run of their own to take a 51-45 lead late in the second. They strolled into the half with a 58-51 advantage.

Not Losing Momentum

Motor City continued to hold onto the lead and were the ones to strike first on a big run to keep fending the Bucks off. They put together a 9-4 run that had them holding a 71-63 lead midway through the quarter. This one would really go back and forth for much of the third Wisconsin put together a run (13-5) that tied the game heading into the last quarter. Brandon Randolph (9 points), Elijah Hughes (8 points) and Jordan Bone (7 points) were pivotal in helping tie the game up for the Bucks. The Cruise were still able to run some efficient offense in the quarter as David Nwaba (7 points in the 3Q) was able to find some easy looks. Keifer Sykes (9 points in the 3Q) was able to get it done from every level to help.

The Cruise would really set the tone early in the fourth with small spurts, Wisconsin wouldn’t let them get too far ahead, but the hometown red and blue found themselves with a 99-91 lead midway through the final quarter. You could really sense the urgency a couple of minutes later as the Cruise went on an 8-2 run to take complete control of the game. Motor City put together a monster quarter (37-19) as they halted the Bucks, 120-102. Jordan Bone and Rob Edwards did all they could for the visitors in the final quarter, but the rest of the team would be limited. Stanley Umude was feeling just fine over the last twelve as he went off for 16 points in the quarter to lead the charge for the Cruise.

The Numbers

Jordan Bone and Rob Edwards both led Wisconsin on the night, each going for 22 points and 5 rebounds a piece. Brandon Randolph was stellar off the Bucks bench to help with 21 points (8-11 from the floor) and 7 rebounds. Elijah Hughes struggled a bit shooting-wise but was still able to pitch in 17 points and 6 rebounds. Iverson Molinar added 10 points.

Stanley Umude came up big late and was solid throughout for the Cruise as he delivered 25 points (6 three-pointers) off the bench. David Nwaba was solid yet again, with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Big man Devontae Cacok would get going in this one by putting up 18 points, 14 rebounds and 2 steals.

Keifer Sykes did a bit of everything on the night by helping with 12 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Jaime Echenique continues to be ‘Mr. Efficient’ as he pitched in 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists as a spark off the bench. Jared Rhoden helped with 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Ryan Turrell would see his minutes increase in this one, and he paid it off by putting up 8 points and 4 rebounds. Kyler Edwards didn’t do much by way of scoring on the night but did still help the offense with 5 points and 7 assists.

Next up

With the loss, the Bucks will fall to 4-8 on the year. They will look to rebound when they take on Greensboro on Friday night. The Swarm will head into that one struggling of late.

With the win, this will move Motor City to 4-8 on the season. They have some ground to make up, but this is a team that’s really starting to play some solid basketball at the right time. They have a chance to face a College Park team on Friday that has been up and down of late. The biggest reason for the Cruise’s recent success is the fact that different guys are stepping up each night. When you have that, you can really start to gel as a team, and they will look to see if they can continue that to the end of January.