Mad Ants clinch playoff berth with Thursday night victory

3rd consecutive postseason berth  

The REPORTER

The Indiana Mad Ants hit the road Thursday night for the first of two games with the Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets affiliate). Indiana entered tonight’s game with a chance to clinch a playoff berth as long as they defeated the Gold. Despite trailing for most of the game, Indiana outscored Grand Rapids 30-22 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 112-110 victory. RayJ Dennis finished two assists shy of a triple-double in the win.

Enrique Freeman scored the first points of the night. The two-way forward found an open lane and finished with an emphatic one-handed dunk. Along with Freeman, two-way guard RayJ Dennis was also active for the Mad Ants on Thursday.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Mad Ants trailed Grand Rapids 18-16. Following a missed shot, Jahlil Okafor grabbed the rebound and scored with a layup. Okafor missed Monday’s game with an illness.

Indiana trailed 28-20 coming up on two minutes left in the quarter. Cameron McGriff cut into the deficit with a corner three. Okafor showed off his range with a three-pointer on the next possession.

With 18 seconds left in the quarter, McGriff drew a shooting foul. He tied the game with a one-for-two free throw. As the quarter was coming to an end, a shooting foul was called on Indiana. Joey Baker made a free throw worth three points. After one quarter of play, the Mad Ants trailed 31-28. Okafor led the club with seven points.

Dennis scored the first points of the second quarter for Indiana. The Illinois native drove the lane and scored with a floater. The field goal gave him seven points on the night.

With seven minutes left in the first half, Indiana trailed 42-39. Following a media timeout, De’Vion Harmon drew a foul and made a free throw worth two points. Two possessions later, Okafor added to his point total with a close-range jumper. Okafor started off the night 5-for-5 from the field.

The Mad Ants trailed the Gold 55-50 with two minutes left in the first half. After being held scoreless for over a minute, a technical foul was called on Gold head coach Andre Miller. Mathias made the free throw. At the end of the first half, Grand Rapids had a 57-51 lead. Okafor led Indiana with 13 first-half points.

Obadiah Noel scored the first points of the second half for Indiana. The UMass-Lowell alum knocked down a mid-range jumper. Next time down the floor, Dennis drained a three-pointer.

With 6:30 left in the third quarter, Indiana trailed 70-63. Coming out of a timeout, Dennis scored with a close-range floater. Next time down the floor, Dennis scored again, this time with a turnaround jumper.

The Mad Ants stormed back and took the lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter. Dennis attacked the paint and scored with a running layup. It was Indiana’s first lead since they led 16-15 in the first quarter.

Grand Rapids pulled back in front late in the quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Mad Ants trailed 88-82. Dennis led the club with 26 points through three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Okafor scored the first points for the Mad Ants. Off a pass from Mathias, the big man scored with a layup. On the next possession, Okafor scored again at the rim.

With six minutes left in regulation, the Mad Ants trailed 101-95. Mathias cut the deficit to three points after making a three-pointer. He was fouled on the play, but missed a chance at a four-point play after missing the free throw. On the next possession, Okafor scored with a close-range field goal. Mad Ants trailed by three points with five minutes to go.

Dennis continued to find ways to score late in the quarter. The two-way guard absorbed contact while making an off-balance shot. He would miss the and-one free throw. His field goal made it a three-point game. Okafor made it a one-point game on the next possession. Freeman put the Mad Ants back in front with a putback layup. Indiana had a 106-105 lead with 2:34 left in regulation.

Grand Rapids regained the lead and had a one-point advantage with 1:30 to go. The Gold scored on their following possession making it a three-point game. On the next possession for Indiana, Josiah-Jordan James tied it with a three-pointer.

Under 30 seconds to go, Okafor drew a foul and put Indiana back on top. The 29-year-old went 1-for-2 at the free throw line giving the Mad Ants a 110-109 lead with 21.9 seconds left. Grand Rapids called a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt.

After the timeout, Indiana forced a turnover leading to Mathias being fouled in the backcourt. The veteran guard knocked down both free throws giving Indiana a 112-109 lead with four seconds remaining. Grand Rapids used their final timeout of the night.

Tevian Jones was fouled coming out of the timeout. He made the first free throw while missing the second free throw. Grand Rapids secured the offensive rebound but came up short on their last-second shot.

With the victory, the Mad Ants secured a playoff berth for the third consecutive season. Since its inaugural season in 2007-08, this marks the eighth time the club has made the postseason.

The Indiana Mad Ants close out the regular season on Saturday against the Grand Rapids Gold. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The G League Postseason begins on Tuesday, April 1st with action between the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 seeds. The No. 3 seed would host the No. 6 seed and No. 4 would host the No. 5 seed.