Regular Season Round 26: Springfield A. - Maine RC 100-102 (22-26, 30-27, 27-27, 21-22)
Date: January 11, 2013 It's a virtual certainty on the yearly NBA Development League schedule that the Springfield Armor will face the Maine Red Claws several times in a short span. These East Division rivals, who came into the league four years ago, hit the hardwood Friday for the first of a two-night home-and-home series. Over the next 13 games, the Armor will face the Red Claws six times. The first one went to the Red Claws, as Boston Celtics first-round draft pick Fab Melo's putback with 1.2 seconds left gave Maine a 102-100 victory before 3,456 at the MassMutual Center. Armor guard Ben Uzoh, who had 17 points and 11 assists, tied the game 100-100 on a driving layup with 35.1 seconds left. He missed the ensuing free throw, and two subsequent Armor putback attempts were swatted away by Melo. "Tonight hurts, because I thought we were there," said Armor coach Bob MacKinnon, whose team trailed by 10 points with about four minutes to play. The teams meet again Saturday night in Portland, Maine. The Armor are an underwhelming 1-5 on the road, where they will spend the next four games. "We're professionals. We're supposed to respond," MacKinnon said. "Now, we have to come (Saturday) night and respond again." James Mays paced Springfield (5-12) with 24 points. Also reaching double figures were Dennis Horner (15), Carleton Scott (13) and Ramone Moore (12). The problem wasn't scoring, however. It was taking care of the ball late. Springfield committed 15 second-half turnovers. "We turned the ball over too much in the third and the fourth (quarters)," MacKinnon said. "That leads to easy baskets." Micah Downs, a 6-foot-9 swingman from Gonzaga, hit the big shot of the fourth – a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired – to break an 85-85 tie and spark a 10-2 Red Claws run. Downs and Shelvin Mack led Maine (12-8) with 26 points apiece. Mack, one of the stars of Butler University's Cinderella runs to the NCAA Division I title game in 2010 and '11, gave Maine a 98-88 lead with a 3-pointer with just under four minutes left. He might have taken over further if not for Uzoh's defensive pressure. "I thought Ben got the advantage (in that matchup)," MacKinnon said. Maine led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter after Downs drained a 3-pointer midway through the period. However, Springfield entered halftime on a 19-9 run, capped by Horner's bucket at the buzzer that cut the deficit to 53-52. The momentum continued into the third, as the Armor took a 60-56 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Scott and a Willie Reed tip-in. The advantage grew as large as six points on three occasions. Downs, however, closed the third quarter with Maine's last seven points, including a late 3-pointer to give the Red Claws an 80-79 lead heading into the fourth. Melo, the former Syracuse center selected by the Celtics in June, returned to action for the Red Claws after missing the last two weeks with a concussion. Former University of Hartford standout Kenny Adeleke, who was signed Friday to replace Cliff Tucker, made his Armor debut. Courtesy of: masslive.com
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