Motor City Cruises to Grab Win Over Westchester

With the season narrowing to an end, Motor City welcomed in the Westchester Knicks on Saturday. Heading into the game, the Cruise trailed Lakeland by just half a game for the final playoff spot.

Showing They Want It

To say that Motor City would come out scorching would be putting it lightly. With just a few games left in the season and the Cruise still vying for a playoff, they couldn’t have asked for a better time than to put an absolutely dominant first quarter together.

Motor City came out on a 20-6 run to put the visiting Knicks in a big hole early on. Jared Rhoden led the charge early on for the Cruise by scoring in every facet in the first. With 2:57 remaining in the quarter, Motor City had their lead at 29-9 without complete reign.

Everything was clicking for the Cruise as they put together another big run of 12-4 to give themselves a 41-13 lead heading into the second quarter. Jared Rhoden (15 points) and Stanley Umude (7 points) had Motor City rolling.

A Knicks 11-4 run to start the second quarter trimmed the Cruise lead a bit, but they still held a 45-24 advantage. The balance for Motor City continued to pay off. With 4:55 left in the half, the Cruise had their lead up to 63-36. They wouldn’t let the Knicks sustain any big runs, and after one half of play, it was the Cruise with all the momentum, 74-48.

Not Giving In

To open the third, the Cruise did a great job of limiting Westchester while keeping their own pace. Still in control of the game, Motor City led 81-58 midway through the quarter.

The Cruise picked up the first big run of the quarter with just over three minutes remaining, as they had built a 96-67 lead to that point. They continued their dominance by taking a 103-75 lead into the final quarter.

Justin Wright-Foreman had a big quarter for the Knicks. leading them with 17 points. Jaylen Johnson helped the Cruise with 7.

Westchester finally put together one of their best runs of the night to cut the Motor City lead to 103-81 early in the fourth. The Cruise responded quickly to limit the damage done and still had a hefty lead.

The Knicks would make it interesting, however. After a 5-0 run, they had the Cruise lead down to 114-100 to put some pressure on. Motor City responded yet again to take full control back and all but put the game away by putting together their own 5-0 run. It would be enough as the early momentum the Cruise had gave them an advantage for most of the night. Motor City takes it 122-112.

The Numbers

Justin Wright-Foreman did all he could on the night to give his guys a shot as he led the Knicks with 41 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. Jordan Allen led the Westchester bench with 31 points and 5 rebounds.

Jalen Johnson added 15 points and 8 rebounds. Dmytro Skapintsev had an impressive double-double going for 11 points and 15 rebounds. Lydell Elmore picked up 6 points and 5 rebounds.

Jared Rhoden was the main man for the Cruise in the win. He finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Jaylen Johnson was big on the night as he went for 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Stanley Umude led the Motor City bench with 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Reggie Perry played a vital role as he pitched in 14 points and 5 rebounds. David Nwaba added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Buddy Boeheim contributed 11 points. Trayvon Palmer (9 points, 5 rebounds), Kyler Edwards (7 points, 5 rebounds) and Ryan Turrell (5 points) finished off a night where everyone got involved for the Cruise.

Up Next

Westchester will fall to 9-21 on the season. They currently sit on a 6-game losing streak as they hope to end their season on the right note here down the stretch.

The Cruise continue to play some of their best basketball of the season as they have now won four straight. They’ll improve to 16-14 on the season as they are still in contention for a playoff spot.

They’ll have another chance to take on Westchester when the two meet in just a couple of days to finish off the back-to-back. Motor City continues to get solid all-around play from the entire roster. If it continues, it could just catapult them into a playoff spot.