Portland, Maine - A big block by Maine’s Chris Wright with 2.3 seconds left on the clock gave the Maine Red Claws (21-18) a huge win over the Erie BayHawks (20-17) at the Portland Expo Building, 102-101. With the win, the Red Claws, who are chasing the BayHawks in the East Division standings, swept the two-game weekend series.
Erie drew first blood on a D.J. Kennedy layup and added four more on Daniels layups, which Maine answered with dunks from Wright and Celtics rookie Fab Melo. Shelvin Mack scored three quick points, and Micah Downs knocked down a three and a jump shot to give Maine an early seven point lead. Kennedy and Tirrell Baines picked up some quick points, and Daniels closed out the quarter strong for the BayHawks, cutting the Red Claw lead to just two, 25-23. Erie scored the first five of the second quarter, but Maine had an answer as Downs, Wright and Mack put in 11 to retake the lead midway through the quarter, 38-36. Kennedy scored Erie’s next 13 points to cut the Red Claws’ lead to two, and Mike Singletary added four more to give the BayHawks a 55-54 halftime edge.
The Red Claws opened the second half on an 8-1 run keyed by Jeremiah Rivers and Downs, but Erie’s Cory Higgins answered to cut the lead back to two. Maine would create some separation with Mack and DaJuan Summers scoring in bunches to push the lead to 78-71, but the BayHawks rode Daniels and Higgins to a 10-4 run to cut Maine’s lead to 82-81 heading into the final frame. In the fourth, the Red Claws took over, going on a 15-3 run, keyed by Wright and Rivers, to open up a 95-88 lead. The BayHawks would not
go away, however, as seven quick points cut the Maine lead to one. This was as close as Erie would get, however, as Summers and Downs would score five quick points to push the lead back to six and a Mark Tyndale free throw with one minute remaining would give the Red Claws 102 points. Erie’s Nick Covington knocked down a three pointer with 41.4 remaining to cut the Red Claws lead to one, but Wright’s big block with 2.3 seconds left lifted the Red Claws to the weekend sweep of the BayHawks.
The Red Claws had five players in double figures, led by Adidas Player of the Game Chris Wright (24 pts, 11 rebounds). Micah Downs (23 pts,7 rebounds), Jeremiah Rivers (11 pts,7 rebounds), Shelvin Mack (15 pts, 10 assists), and DaJuan Summers (16 points) rounded out the top scorers for Maine while Fab Melo chipped in on the effort with7 blocks.
Erie, who was without the services of Henry Sims who earned a Gatorade call-up to the New Orleans Hornets earlier in the day, had seven players in double digits. Erik Daniels netted 18 points to lead the BayHawks, followed by D.J. Kennedy (16 pts, 8 rebounds), Cory Higgins (14 pts), Demonte Harper (15 pts, 10 rebounds), Kyle Goldcamp (10 pts), Mike Singletary (10 pts) and Tirrell Baines (10 pts).
The Red Claws will be back in action on Friday when they host the division leading Canton Charge at 7PM at the Portland Expo. The BayHawks travel to Springfield tomorrow for a 7 PM contest at the Mass Mutual Center.
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