Motor City Cruise Dominant in Win over Fort Wayne

Motor City was looking to see if they could take another win after their thrilling finish with the Mad Ants just a couple of nights earlier. Coming down the stretch of the season, this is crunch time for the red and blue Cruise.

Setting the Tone

Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for Motor City in this one. They controlled things until the midway point with a 16-10 advantage led by Keifer Sykes, who got off to a torrid start on the night. The Cruise really had their offense going throughout the first quarter as they held a 28-14 late. Motor City had everything going their way as they strolled into the second quarter with a commanding 39-19 lead after one.

Gabe York led the Mad Ants with 7 points in the quarter as he was the only one that could put much together. Keifer Sykes (10 points) and David Nwaba (8 points) led the Cruise.

Motor City got off to an even hotter start in the second as they went on a 18-10 run to put themselves up 57-29 with most of the quarter still remaining. Fort Wayne finally put together their biggest run of the night to cut the Cruise lead to 57-39, but Motor City would respond right away to limit any momentum for the Mad Ants. After one half of play, it was Motor City heading to the break with a commanding lead, 76-46.

Trevelin Queen finally got going for Fort Wayne as he put together 7 points in the quarter. Sykes continued to be a thorn in the Mad Ants side as he led the Cruise with 13 in the quarter. ShawnDre Jones added 7.

Cruise Control Throughout

Things were a little back and forth in the early going of the third quarter as Motor City did a solid job in limiting opportunities for the Mad Ants. With just minutes remaining in the quarter, the Cruse built their lead to 94-59 helped by some easy looks for big man Reggie Perry. After three, it was all Motor City as they held a 102-66 lead heading to the final twelve minutes.

In the quarter, Justin Anderson led Fort Wayne with 9 points, Keifer Sykes continued his big night with 8 while  Reggie Perry pitched in 7.

The Cruise continued to hold their big lead without letting the Mad Ants get on track early in the fourth. Fort Wayne gained some traction over the next several minutes to cut into the Motor City lead, but the Cruise still held a 126-92 lead with just 3:02 of game action left. They maintained it the rest of the way and put one of their best games together by taking this one, 132-102.

The Numbers

Justin Anderson led the Mad Ants with 26 points and 5 rebounds on the night. Jermaine Samuels had a solid all-around game to finish with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Gabe York had things going early and pitched in 13 points (3 three-pointers). Tevin Brown led the Fort Wayne bench with 11 points (4-7 from the field). Jordan Bone struggled with his shot on the night but still added 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. David Stockton finished with 5 points and 5 assists before fouling out.

Keifer Sykes had a big night to lead the Cruise with 34 points (3 three-pointers) and 7 rebounds. ShawnDre Jones was solid off the Motor City bench to finish with 22 points (8-11 from the field). Reggie Perry had his best night since joining the Cruise; he added 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. David Nwaba did ‘David Nwaba’ things as he pitched in 18 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals.

Kyler Edwards started the game and paid it off with 10 points (3 three-pointers) and 8 rebounds. Jaylen Johnson had 6 points and 6 rebounds. Trayvon Palmer (5 points) and Ryan Turrell (5 points and 5 rebounds) helped the Cruise cause.

Up Next

With the loss, Fort Wayne moved to 13-14 on the season. They are in the midst of a 5-game losing streak but continue to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Mad Ants will head to Long Island for a showdown with the Nets in their next outing. Long Island is currently riding a 16-game winning streak heading into that one, sitting at 22-3 on the season.

Motor City is going to improve to 14-14 as they won two in a row. This is a big one as the Cruise have just four games remaining, and they sit right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference.

The Cruise will look to see if they can keep it going when they take on Cleveland in their next game. Cleveland comes in dropping their previous two to Ontario but remain in the playoff race with their record of 14-13.