The Steel City Yellow Jackets were back in action Saturday after a long weather-aided layoff. They were able to use their rest and relaxation to propel them to a big win against the number 21 team in the country in the Fredericksburg Grizzlies as they won 131-128.
It has been a while since the Steel City Yellow Jackets have taken the court. Weather has not been on their side as snow resulted in both of their games being cancelled last week, but it gave them a chance to get some much needed rest after two very tough games and a big comeback victory that had them sitting at 4-3 on the season.
That rest would prove to help the Yellow Jackets as they picked up a big win against the number 21 team in the country, the Fredericksburg Grizzlies, winning by the score of 131-128. The number 23 ranked Yellow Jackets took a big lead early on and used that to help propel them to victory. The game would end up being close in the end, but the Yellow Jackets were still able to pick up their fifth win of the season.
After leading throughout the game, the Grizzlies fought back to cut the deficit to just 10 points with a little under three minutes to go in the ball game. The Grizzlies would turn up the heat on the Yellow Jackets as they went into a full court press defense. This allowed them to creep within two points with 35.7 seconds left on the clock. Anthony Poindexter then came to the line for the Grizzlies to shoot three free throw shots. He would end up making all three and gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the game.
However, Antonio Reddic got his hands on the ball for the Jackets and produced a slam dunk that allowed the Yellow Jackets to retake the lead with 25 seconds to go. Then the big moment in the game happened when Isaiah Prince came to the free throw line with just over ten seconds on the clock. With the Jackets up by two he had to make both free throw attempts to make it a two possession game. He was able to do just that and after another defensive stop the Yellow Jackets were able to come away with the victory.
While this game was close at the end it did not start out that way at all. The Yellow Jackets would jump out to a big lead right away scoring 43 points in the first quarter of play to take an early 43-22 lead. The early offensive charge was lead by Reddic who had 12 points in the first quarter while making what was his first start of the 2016/2017 season.
Several Yellow Jackets got their first starts of the season in this one as joining Reddic in getting their first starts were Lamont Wright and Isaiah Prince. Wright was another big part of the early surge as he put up eight points in the first quarter making the start for Marcus Smith. The Yellow Jackets used a good rotation throughout the day with a total of 11 of the 14 players that were suited up for the Jackets seeing time.
The Yellow Jackets would once again lead at halftime as they built upon their big first quarter lead to go into the break up 72-52. Reddic continued his scoring success in the second quarter and went into the break with 23 points on the night. Reddic was followed by Lawrence Baker, 14 points, and Lamont Wright, 13 points, to round out the top three scorers for the Yellow Jackets.
For the Grizzlies, Joe Posey lead the charge in the first half with his 14 points on the night. Anthony Poindexter was the other Grizzly to score in double digits in the first half of play as he had 11 points. The Grizzlies had not had a lot of offense to that point and were looking to put something together to try and mount a comeback late in this one.
They would start out hot in the second half as they scored 37 points to the Yellow Jackets 30 to cut the lead down to 102-89 with one quarter of play. Then the drama unfolded as the Grizzlies tried to fight back in the fourth quarter, but the Jackets were able to hold them off and pick up a much needed victory improving their record to 5-3 on the season.
Antonio Reddic would finish the day as the leading scorer for the Jackets tying his season high by scoring 38 points in the contest. Lamont Wright would be the next highest scorer for the Yellow Jackets as he scored a season high 22 points in the contest. For the Grizzlies, Joe Posey ended the day as the leading scorer with his team high 34 points. He was followed by Poindexter who put up a total of 27 points on the night.
Steel City Yellow Jackets Player of the Game: Antonio Reddic
Antonio Reddic brought the fire and passion on the court tonight for the Yellow Jackets and it was enough to ink him his third Yellow Jackets player of the game award on the season. He scored a team high 38 points on the evening and included some big time defensive plays that allowed the Yellow Jackets to hold on for their fifth win of the season. Reddic has been one of the leaders of this Yellow Jackets team and he will be one of the key contributors for the Yellow Jackets trying to make their third straight playoff run.
Up Next:
The Yellow Jackets will have a quick turn around as they are right back at it Sunday night when they travel to take on the Kentucky Enforcers. The last time these two teams faced off was on opening day when the Enforcers came out victorious. The Yellow Jackets will be looking for redemption at the Enforcers house Sunday night. The home schedule of the first half of the regular season is over, however, there will still be many more chances for you to come out and catch the buzz.
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