A sluggish offensive first half put the Mad Ants into too deep a hole in the first game of their five-game home stand.
Erie beat Fort Wayne 112-104 in NBA Development League action Tuesday at Memorial Coliseum. The BayHawks built a 22-point halftime lead and held off a steady Ants climb in the second half. The Ants fell to 16-19 with the loss.
Ron Howard hit 10 of 18 shots and scored 28 points to lead the Ants. Tony Mitchell added 25 points with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Anthony Harris scored 15 points and Anthony Richardson 10.
Erie (20-15) was led by D.J. Kennedy's 23, Nick Covington's 22 and Cory Higgins 20.
The Mad Ants return to action against Springfield at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the coliseum.
ERIE 112, MAD ANTS 104
Erie*30*31*23*28—112
Fort Wayne*20*19*32*33—104
Erie: Kennedy 9-15 2-2 23, Sims 3-11 3-5 9, Goldcamp 5-9 2-2 12, Higgins 5-10 7-8 20, Covington 6-10 8-8 22, McCamey 1-4 0-0 3, Harper 3-11 2-2 9, Singletary 1-5 2-2 4, Baines 4-6 2-2 10. Totals 37-81 28-31 112.
Fort Wayne: Mitchell 10-25 3-4 25, Richardson 5-11 0-2 10, Wallace 1-2 0-0 2, Partin 1-5 2-2 4, Howard 10-18 8-9 28, Rojas 3-6 0-0 8, Smith 4-9 0-0 8, Porter 2-5 0-0 4, Austin 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 6-11 3-3 15. Totals 42-94 16-20 104.
Three-point goals: E/10-25 (Higgins 3-4, Kennedy 3-5, Covington 2-6, McCamey 1-4, Harper 1-4, Singletary 0-2), FW/4-14 (Rojas 2-3, Mitchell 2-7, Harris 0-1, Partin 0-3). Rebounds: E/48 (Sims 9, Goldcamp 8, Baines 8), FW/35 (Mitchell 8). Assists: E/17 (Kennedy 4, Higgins 4), FW/19 (Mitchell 4). Steals: E/4, FW/11 (Mitchell 3). Blocks: E/4, FW/5. Turnovers: E/19, FW/10. Total fouls: E/23, FW/24. Technical fouls: E/Sims, FW/Mitchell. Attendance: 2,647.
