Dennis & Jackson combine for 57 points in Tuesday afternoon defeat

The REPORTER

The Indiana Mad Ants hosted the Long Island Nets Tuesday afternoon. It was a back-and-forth nailbiter with 31 lead changes and 14 ties at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. In the end it was the Nets who prevailed in a 114-109 contest. Quenton Jackson scored 30 points while RayJ Dennis added 27 points for the Mad Ants.

The Mad Ants had RayJ Dennis, Enrique Freeman and Quenton Jackson all active for Tuesday’s game. It was Dakota Mathias who scored the first points of the day. The Purdue alum drained an off-balance three-pointer with time winding down on the shot clock.

The game was 3-0 through the first couple minutes of play. With 6:42 remaining in the first quarter, the Nets had a 13-12 lead. Coming out of the TV timeout, Dennis drained a three-pointer to regain the lead for Indiana.

In the final minutes of the quarter, Mathias knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 28. Two possessions later, a steal from Kyle Mangas resulted in a layup on the other end. At the end of the first quarter, the Nets had a 31-30 lead. Dennis led all scorers with 10 points.

Jahlil Okafor scored the first points of the second quarter. After grabbing an offensive rebound, the Duke alum scored with a layup. Okafor drew a foul on the next possession and converted the one-for-two free throw attempt.

With 6:36 left in the first half, the Mad Ants trailed Long Island 48-45. A minute later, Dennis cut the deficit shorter with a finger roll layup. The two-way guard made five of his first seven field goals.

With under three minutes to go in the second quarter, Jackson threw down a strong two-handed dunk to tie the game at 55. Next time down the floor, he drained a three-pointer giving him 16 points on the day.

Down to a minute to go, Mangas drew a foul and made a free throw worth two points. On the next possession, Jackson absorbed contact while making an off-balance shot close to the rim. The Mad Ants trailed 64-62 heading into halftime. Jackson led the team with 18 first-half points.

Okafor scored the first points of the second half. The veteran center knocked down a mid-range jumper off a pass from Dennis. Next time down the floor, Jackson drew a foul and converted the one-for-two free throw attempt.

Halfway through the third quarter, Dennis scored with a close-range floater. His field goal made it a 77-76 game with Indiana down one. The Illinois native made eight of his first 12 points.

Long Island finished the quarter on a 20-7 run. The Mad Ants trailed the Nets 97-83 heading into the fourth quarter. Jackson led the team with 22 points through three quarters.

Okafor scored the first points of the fourth quarter for Indiana. Freeman grabbed an offensive rebound and found Okafor who finished with a close-range jumper. Jackson scored on the next possession with a three-pointer.

Trailing 101-90, the Mad Ants got back-to-back threes from Mangas and Jackson to cut the deficit to five points with 6:30 remaining in the quarter.

Dennis and Okafor helped bring the deficit down to two points. Okafor scored with a one-handed dunk while Dennis scored with a layup. Jackson tied the game for the Mad Ants with a reverse layup. The scoring run from Indiana prompted a timeout called by Long Island. The game was tied at 104 with 3:27 left in regulation.

The game remained tied with 1:25 remaining in the quarter. Long Island regained the lead on their next possession with a putback layup from Drew Timme. Next time down the floor for the Mad Ants, Dennis captured the lead with a three-pointer. The Nets, now trailing 109-108, called a timeout with 37 seconds left on the game clock.

After the timeout, Long Island drew a shooting foul. Tosan Evbuomwan knocked down both free throws to regain the lead for the Nets. The following possession for the Mad Ants yielded no points. With time winding down, Tyson Etienne was fouled and converted both free throws. Long Island had a 112-109 advantage with 13.9 seconds remaining.

Tom Hankins called a timeout following Etienne’s free throws. Indiana turned it over trying to inbound the basketball. The Nets successfully inbounded it, and Etienne was fouled again. The Long Island point guard sank two more free throws making it a 114-109 game with 12.8 seconds remaining.

Hankins used his final timeout with Indiana still alive in the game. Josiah-Jordan James missed from downtown, and Long Island clinched the victory.

The Indiana Mad Ants hit the road for their next five games. This road trip begins on Sunday against the Delaware Blue Coats (76ers affiliate) with tip-off at 2 p.m. This road trip will also include Capital City, two stops in Windy City, and another trip to Delaware. The final Mad Ants home game of the regular season comes on March 24 against the Windy City Bulls. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.