Energy Back On Track Following Losing Streak

For what it's worth, the Iowa Energy aren't used to losing three straight in a row. Coming back home always cures the worst pains. Through a 111-84 win Sunday night over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Iowa feels like they might be on track.

"In the fashion we played tonight, I think this win give a big lift," said Energy Head Coach Kevin Young.

The Energy come off a three-game losing streak, including a two-game sweep at the hands of the Springfield Armor on the road.

"We were just too inefficient," Young said. "If you look at the game film from the Springfield games and these games, you'll see how differently we played."

One of the guys who gave the Energy that big lift in Sunday's win was guard Mike Efevberha, who ended the game with 27 points.

"I just try and stay aggressive and get good looks," Efevberha said. "Sometimes it happens that I sink three or four in a row. Tonight, that's what happened."

Through the lack of offense displayed in Springfield, the Energy didn't think they seemed to play together. They wanted to change that coming into the first of two games against Fort Wayne this week.

"We didn't really change anything; we just wanted to come out and play together more," Efevberha said. "We did that tonight, and you see the final outcome."

Efevberha went 12-for-19 from the floor as well as being very efficient with four assists and one turnover.

"Mike and I had a discussion before the game, and I told [him], 'Make the smart basketball play,' and I thought he did that very well tonight," Young said."One thing you can't question of Mike is his passion and his competitive spirit. He refused to lose tonight."

Young used a different approach to keep the team's focus more so on themselves than on their opponent.

"I was trying to find a different way to reach the guys tonight," Young said. "We barely talked about Fort Wayne. I told the guys, 'I don't care if we're playing the Mad Ants or Linsanity, it's about what we do.' That's what they did."

Energy forward Nick Murphy is pleased to see the streak come to a close.

"I thought we responded well," Murphy said. "It was important to get that win. Our ship hit an iceberg and we sunk for a little bit but I think we're back above water."

Murphy attempted only six shots, but found the bottom of the net four times to find 12 points beside his name.

While it was all fun for the Energy, the Mad Ants had a rough night on the floor. As a team, they shot 39 percent from the floor to Iowa's 50 percent. Fort Wayne's leading scorer was Tory Jackson with 20 points.

The Energy and Fort Wayne will go at it again Tuesday night in Wells Fargo Arena at 7:05 p.m.