The Armor lost a 24-point lead, only to rally for the win.
Springfield Armor guard Christian Polk drives to the basket during the first half against the Mad Ants Saturday at the MassMutual Center.
SPRINGFIELD – It was a roller coaster of a game, but in the end the Springfield Armor were able to end their losing streak at four games.
A tremendous first-half by the Armor was completely undone by a poor third quarter, followed by a fourth quarter in which they did just enough to hold off the Fort Wayne Mad Ants 107-101 before 1,549 at the MassMutual Center.
"I thought the first half we played defensively as well as we played all year and certainly up to our capability," Armor coach Bob MacKinnon said. "But this is a pro game and in the pros, team's make runs. There are so many possessions, no team is out of it."
The Armor led by as many as 24 points and went into the locker room up 22, only to see it all disappear in just one quarter. The Armor actually trailed by four points with under three minutes to play but big plays by James Mays (20 points, 8 rebounds), Willie Reed (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Ben Uzoh (18 points) brought them back and stopped the team's slide.
"It feels great to end this (losing streak) so now we can go on break knowing that we can enjoy with our families knowing we got a win," Reed said. "Now we got to come back and work hard and get ready for the next part of the season."
It was an otherworldly performance for the Armor in the first half, their offensive output easily overcoming a high turnover number to take a 63-41 lead over the Mad Ants.
Shooting – whether from the foul line or on either side of the 3-point line – has been an issue this season for Springfield, but not in the first 24 minutes of Saturday night. After a rough start in which the team turned the ball over three times and had an offensive foul in the first four possessions, everything the Armor touched seemed to turn into points.
The shooting percentage climbed as the game advanced, resulting in the Armor hitting 69.4 percent of their shots in the half. They hit five of nine behind the arc and missed just one free throw as well.
Turnovers were the only reason the Mad Ants hadn't tossed in the towel. The Armor turned the ball over 15 times in the half, just three fewer than their season-high of 18 in a game.
As it turned out, the Mad Ants were right to stick with it despite trailing by as many as 23 points.
Tony Mitchell, who did not score in the first half, had 18 points in the third quarter and 27 in the second half, leading the charge for the Mad Ants who tied the game at 79-79 after three quarters.
"We kind of let down defensively and got away from what we were doing in the first half," Reed said. "We slowly got back to it and that's how we got the win."
Down 100-96, the Armor started making plays again. Mays scored off an offensive rebound then Uzoh knocked down a leaner. On the play Mitchell was called for a foul off the ball, his sixth, and Mays was awarded a free throw which he made to give the Armor a 101-100 lead with 1:30 left.
Springfield got a defensive stop, then Reed scored on a drive with 50.3 seconds left. The Armor limited the Mad Ants to contested shots which they could not convert, leading to the victory.
Carleton Scott added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Ramone Moore scored 15 points in his first start with the Armor.