The Motor City Cruise had a chance to play at home again in Wayne State Fieldhouse on Friday night. Welcoming in the Grand Rapids Gold, the Cruise would look to grab another win over them on the season, beating them just a couple of weeks ago.
Tight First-Half Battle
Both defenses would come to play in the first quarter, limiting scoring opportunities for both. Motor City would put together an 11-5 scoring run midway through the quarter, looking to gain some momentum. But it would be tightly contested throughout. We would have an 18-18 game heading into the second quarter. Adonis Arms led the way for the Golds in the quarter with 10 points. Devontae Cacock and Kyler Edwards did much of the damage for the Cruise combining for 16 of the 18 scored in the opening stanza.
Things would heat up a bit in the second quarter as both teams found ways to score. It would be another tightly tested quarter, and Motor City would take the lead heading into the half at 46-45.
Kellan Grady would heat up for the Gold with 10 points in the quarter. National Champion Jimmy Butler out of Baylor would pitch in with 10 as well. Cacock would continue his dominance by adding another 12 points in the quarter to help the Cruise take the lead into the half.
Building Momentum
Both teams would continue their scoring prowess in the third quarter. The Cruise would gain some momentum by going on a 14-2 scoring run that would give them some breathing room. The Gold would gain some momentum back by going on a 9-2 scoring run to end the quarter. The Cruise would head into the final quarter with a 7-point lead.
Norris Cole would heat up for Grand Rapids by leading them with 9 points in the third. Cacock just could not be stopped; he would add another 9 points in the quarter. Edwards would help him out by scoring points, including 4 three-pointers.
Motor City might have put together their best quarter of the season in the final quarter. They would put up 41 points in the fourth. They were able to go on a 9-4 run late, which would put this one out of reach. The Cruise would do exactly that, cruising to a 123-107 victory over Grand Rapids.
Trevon Duval led the scoring for the Golds in the fourth with 10 points. Butler would add another 8 points. Trayvon Palmer got into the action late; he would finish with 8 points in the fourth. Cacock was just a man among men adding another 12 points. The scoring punch was helped out by RJ Nembhard and Stanley Umude who both had 7 points apiece.
The Numbers
Jared Butler did a lot for the Golds, scoring 28 points. Kellan Grady added 19 points including knocking down 5 three-pointers. Norris Cole and Trevon Duval had 12 points apiece, with Duval adding 9 assists. Adonis Arms got things started for Grand Rapids early finish with 17 points. Justin Tillman finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the Golds bench.
Devontae Cacock would have himself a night. The big man would go for 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 steals. He would go 13 of 15 shooting. Kyler Edwards added 19 points and 6 assists. RJ Nembhard helped the Cruise finish this one off. He pitched in with 18 points and 9 assists, missing just one shot. Trayvon Palmer was big late, knocking down 3 three-pointers to go with 12 points and 9 rebounds off the Cruise bench. Stanley Umude and Jaylen Johnson combined for 17 points.
Next Up
The loss will drop Grand Rapids to 1-6 on the season. They looked to bounce back against the Iowa Wolves on Sunday night. Motor City will move to 2-6 on the season. They would look for a chance to build some momentum when they take on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Wayne State Field House on Sunday.
Motor City would be looking to grab back-to-back wins on the season for the first time on Sunday. This time they would welcome the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to Wayne State Fieldhouse. This would be a battle throughout.
Battling Early
The Cruise would get off to a solid start. They would have a lead midway in the first quarter of 14-10. The Mad Ants would get going, though. Fort Wayne would go on a 10-2 run to end the opening quarter to take a lead of 33-22 into the second quarter.
Deividas Sirvydis would help the Mad Ants with 7 points in the quarter. Former Michigan Wolverine would help set the tone early, leading Fort Wayne with 8 points in the opening stanza. Kyler Edwards did a great job keeping his team in this one as he led the Cruise with 7 points in the first 12:00 of play.
Motor City would continue to put up a battle in this one. They would put together a 10-5 scoring run to end the half. It would be a tight one as the Mad Ants would take a 58-49 into the half. Trevelin Queen led the way in the quarter for Fort Wayne with 7 points. Devontae Cacock had a monster quarter to help put pressure on the Mad Ants with 13 points.
Keep Chipping Away
Fort Wayne would be hard to stop in the quarter as they would put up 30 points to start the half. The away team would get off with some big momentum as they started the third with an early 7-2 run.
They would, at one point, build the lead to 16 points. Motor City would continue to fight, however. They would be down by just a score of 88-76 heading into the final 12:00. Queen continued his ways for the Mad Ants by scoring 14 points in the quarter. RJ Nembhard helped the Cruise stay in it by scoring 7 points in the quarter.
A young Cruise team showed their fight in the fourth. Battling throughout, they put together a 15-4 scoring run midway through the fourth to cut the lead to 94-89. The Cruise defense poured it on, holding Fort Wayne to 15 points in the quarter. They had a shot to grab this one late, but it would just be for naught, as Fort Wayne would hold on to take a 103-102 victory. The Cruise were able to ramp up the defense and were led by a balanced scoring attack in the final quarter.
The Numbers
Trevelin Queen would not be denied on the night; he led the way for the Mad Ants with 21 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Jermaine Samuels was perfect on the night going 8 for 8. He would add 18 points and 2 steals off the Fort Wayne bench. Eli Brooks helped get things started for Fort Wayne, finishing the night with 14 points. Deividas Servydis had a nice night with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Norvel Pelle added 6 points and 7 rebounds.
Devontae Cacock had another monster game. He would go 12 of 14 on the night with 29 points and 8 rebounds. Stanley Umude knocked down 3 three-pointers en route to 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals. Kyler Edwards would have a tough night shooting but still wound up with 15 points and had an impact in other ways with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. RJ Nembhard finished with 11 points. Jaylen Johnson had 8 points off the Cruise bench.
Next Up
Fort Wayne grabs a big one as they move to 5-3 on the season. They’ll stay in town as they play the Cruise again tomorrow night. Motor City will move to 2-7 on the year as they will look to see if they can avenge this one with another shot tomorrow.
