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Westchester Knicks Snap Losing Skid Against Fort Wayne Mad Ants Behind Stellar Defense

Five Knicks finished in double figures led by Andrew White III with 17 points and three triples made.

By Chris Priczak
Fort Wayne Mad Ants v Westchester Knicks Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

The Westchester Knicks suffered a few tough losses over the past week, including three games by a combined 13 points. The Knicks set the tone early in the first quarter and used a strong defensive performance, along with the second unit coming up strong, to propel them to a 109-95 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Andrew White III finished with 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Zak Irvin recorded 16 points and three assists on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Lamar Peters tallied 14 points and three rebounds on 4-of-6 from three. Amir Hinton totaled 12 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Ivan Rabb had an overall solid outing and finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

The Knicks put up 38 first quarter points behind seven points from Andrew White III and six points from Lamar Peters. As a team, Westchester shot 5-of-7 from three in the quarter and that trend continued in the remaining three quarters. When the game concluded, the team shot 49 percent from the floor and 45 percent from beyond the arc.

Westchester showed good ball movement throughout the game, which is evident off their 26 assists on 43 field goals made. The Knicks’ bench outscored the Mad Ants, 58-28.

While Westchester had one of their better offensive games this season, their collective effort on the defensive end is what stands out. The team were switching on defense and were creating points off turnovers. Kenny Wooten continued to make an impact with his interior defense with five blocked shots, which is the third game this season he reached that mark.

As a team, the Knicks recorded 15 steals, 10 blocks, and scored 27 points off 23 turnovers by the Mad Ants.

After Westchester lost the previous five games, Hinton gave his thoughts on what the win meant.

“It meant a lot as a group, as a team, and as an organization,” Hinton said. “I think us winning is good for everybody around us. Everybody is in a good mood, obviously, and it’s just good for the culture of the team, so I think that was a big win for us today.”