Dropping their season opener on Friday night in a heartbreaker to the Cleveland Charge, the Motor City Cruise would look to bounce back with some home cooking on Monday night, welcoming in the Windy City Bulls for their home opener at Wayne State Fieldhouse.
It’s About Balance
Windy City would get off a quick start in this one, taking an early 8-2 lead in the first. They would get the lead up to 12 late in the quarter before the Cruise would cut the lead to 9 to end the stanza. The Bulls led by a balanced attack early in getting their offense rolling. The Cruise had a balanced attack of their own as Braxton Key, Stanley Umude, and Kyler Edwards were able to provide the scoring punch keeping it close after one, 34-25.
The Bulls would continue to scoring pace early in the second, which would give the away team at one point a 25-point lead. Motor City would show their grit early in the season and really dominate for nearly eight minutes to cut the lead to 15. The Cruise would have some momentum heading into the half trailing, 48-63. Much of the momentum came from Umude and Buddy Boeheim combining for four 3-pointers in the quarter.
Another Fast Start
Another quick start from Windy City would get the lead back up to 20 nearly midway through the third quarter. They would have the lead back at 25 with just 4:43 to go in the quarter. But the Cruise would again go on a run of their own to try and climb back in it. At the 4:00 mark, Motor City would put together a 15-7 run to put the game at 96-79 after three quarters of play.
It would again be the Bulls to have that fast start to the quarter as they would build the lead back up to 25 midway through the final quarter. It would be enough to hold Motor City off on the night. The Cruise would go on another scoring surge to cut into, but tonight just wouldn’t be the night. Jules Bernard led the way in the final quarter for the Cruise grabbing 9 points late in the game. Motor City would drop this one, 109-125.
The Numbers
Stanley Umude (Arkansas) Motor City on the night. He would go on to finish with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, and 7 rebounds. Jules Bernard (UCLA) was able to provide some scoring off the bench, especially late, with 19 points. Braxton Key finished with 12 points. ShawnDre Jones was big off the bench with 11 points and three 3-pointers. Devontae Cacock was big in every aspect, putting up a double-double in the game with 10 points and 14 rebounds. He pitched in another 5 assists and 4 steals. Jaylen Johnson helped with 7 points, and Buddy Boeheim would finish the night with 6 points.
Carlik Jones was big for the night on the Windy City side. He finished with a near triple-double for the Bulls. Ethan Thompson helped with 20 points. Henri Drell provided 17 points. Chris Clemons was big off the Windy City bench with 16 points. Kostas Antetokounmpo helped with 15 points.
Where Do They Go Now?
There’s no doubt in this one, quick starts and scoring droughts would rule on this night. In just the second game of the year, the Cruise have shown their resilience early. They know they will need to get off to faster starts, but it’s a team that shows promise as they continue to gel.
Windy City will move to 2-1 on the young season. Their next two games will be back-to-backs against the Iowa Wolves later in the week. Motor City will drop to 0-2 in early November. They will make the trip over to Grand Rapids for a showdown with the Golds on Thursday night. The Golds will come into that game at 0-2 on the season.
