By DJ Harding
Capital City Go-Go 131 – Maine Celtics 126
The Maine Celtics traveled to Washington D.C to take on the Capital City Go-Go. Both teams owned good records not losing more than 6 games and being 4th (Go-GO) and 6th (Celtics) in the Eastern Conference Standings. The First Quarter was as close as you can get with Capital City having a 27-26 lead. No team took control throughout the second quarter either with it being a 63-60 tie. In a very close battle between two possible playoff teams lived up to the hype. To begin the third Maine would gain the largest lead of the game going up 5 points and obtaining a 75-70 lead. The lead wouldn’t last long as Capital City would gain a 7 point lead of their own going up 97-90 toward the end of the 3rd quarter. A Celtics 3 pointer would have the 3rd quarter end in a 97-93 score with the Go-Go obtaining a 4 point lead. In the 4th the Go-go would extend their lead to 10 and that would be enough to stay out of reach as the Celtics never got a chance to reclaim the lead as the Go-Go won 131-126. For Capital City Jules Bernard had 27 points along with Kris Dunn (19) and Jordan Goodwin (18) who were the teams top 3 scorers. The Celtics top performers were Mfiondu Kabengele who had 31 points. JD Davidson and Mariol Shayok each contributed 24 points. The Maine Celtics return to play on February 3rd versus the College park Skyhawks while the Capital City Go-Go will return to action on February 4th versus the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Westchester Knicks 115 – Wisconsin Herd 111
The Knicks traveled to Wisconsin to take on the Herd in a matchup of 2 Eastern Conference teams ranked 10th (Knicks) and 13th (Herd) in the Eastern Conference. The first quarter was a close one with a score of 19-17, and the Knicks had a small lead of 2 points. But then the Knicks would go on a 15-0 run doubling the Herd’s score and gaining a 17-point lead. The score was 34-17, with about 3 minutes left in the quarter. The quarter would end with the Knicks up 44-29. The Herd would use the second quarter to climb back in the game, getting to score within 4, down 56-52 before the Knicks unloaded another run, this one being 17-2 run to end the second period. The score was 71-54, and the Knicks once again had a 17-point lead. The 3rd quarter had the Herd chip away at the Knicks lead and outscore them 32-23 in the third quarter. Bringing the Knicks leads down to 10 points, with the score being 96-86. In the 4th, the Herd would open the door for a comeback and tie the game up at 106 after an 11 point run during the quarter. Despite having the lead most of the game, it was all tied up with 3 minutes left in the game. 2 minutes later, the Herd would take the lead going up 109-108, which was responded with layup to put the Knicks back up 110-109 with a minute left to go. The Herd would respond with another basket before a Knicks 3 pointer would seal the deal with about 30 seconds left. It was a hard fought game by the Herd, but the comeback was not completed as the Knicks would leave Wisconsin with the win. The Knicks have a break and won’t play again until February 6th versus the College Park Skyhawks. The Knicks were led by a 33-point performance from DaQuan Jefferies. For the Herd AJ Green was their highest scorer with 24 points.
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