Mad Ants NBADL | Journal Gazette

Ants' brass says foundation is solid

Steve Warden — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

For the first time in their six-year history as a member of the NBA Development League, the Mad Ants not only had a winning regular season record (27-23), but also qualified for the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. They would lose the best-of-three first-round series to Santa Cruz 2-0.

D-League honors Howard

Steve Warden — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Mad Ants guard Ron Howard was named the recipient of the Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award, presented to the NBA Development League player who best represents character and conduct on and off the court.

Ants' Mitchell voted league's top rookie

Steve Warden — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Mad Ants guard Tony Mitchell, who in a span of 15 days broke the team's single-game scoring record twice, was named the NBA Development League Rookie of the Year on Tuesday.

Accepting coaching fueled Ants' success

STEVE WARDEN — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The next stop for the Mad Ants is home, where they will return today from Santa Cruz, Calif., after being eliminated from the NBA Development League playoffs 110-92 on Saturday.

2-out-of-3 remains Mad Ants' mantra

Steve Warden — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

There was no whistle, no horn, no buzzer to signify the end of the Mad Ants' recent practices. Instead, coach Duane Ticknor would clap his hands a few times, yell "OK, huddle up," and the players would gather at center court.

Ants search for ways to contain center

Steve Warden — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Even though the location has changed from Memorial Coliseum to Santa Cruz, Calif., the D-League playoffs ball is still in the Mad Ants' court. With its 6-foot-10 center Jeremy Tyler rocking the Ants for 34 points in Wednesday's opening game of the best-of-three series, Santa Cruz showed how to beat the Ants and did 124-118.

Big man stomps on Ants

Steve Warden — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Game 1 went to Santa Cruz, whose inside game gave it the inside track in the best-of-three D-League playoff series with the Mad Ants.

Mr. Mad Ant finally in playoffs

Steve Warden — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Moments before he walked onto the practice court, Mad Ants guard Ron Howard wrapped his injured right wrist with a black brace and strapped it down with Velcro.

D-League playoff capsule: Mad Ants vs. Santa Cruz

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

How the Mad Ants and Santa Cruz match up in the best-of-three series:

Journey to playoffs started with coach

Steve Warden — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Here is an all-points bulletin: Be on the lookout for one monkey, age 6; last seen on the collective backs of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants NBA D-League basketball team. If found, please do not return; the Ants have had enough of it.

Top D-League teams avoid Ants

Steve Warden — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

If you lean out April's door long enough, and listen hard enough, maybe you can hear all the way back to the first week of January. That sound in the distance is the Mad Ants' two victories over Santa Cruz being tossed into the street.

Playoff-bound Ants fall in season finale

Journal Gazette — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Tony Mitchell continued his one-man assault on the bucket. But this time he couldn't bail out the Mad Ants.

Mitchell leads Ants to playoffs for 1st time

Journal Gazette — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

scoring a career- and franchise-high 49 points Friday against South Dakota - and the result for the Mad Ants was even bigger.

Mad Ants hit road seeking playoff berth

Steve Warden — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

So the cramped bus trips and the half-empty arenas and the morning practices and airport layovers all boil down to this for the Mad Ants: Two games on the road for one spot in the NBA Development League playoffs.

Mad Ants close in on playoff berth

STEVE WARDEN — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

For the first five years immediately after the Mad Ants' final regular-season home games - win or lose - rectangle bits of confetti littered the floor while Kool The Gang's "Celebration" blared throughout Memorial Coliseum.

Ants bench players fueling playoff push

Steve Warden — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Much of the fourth quarter of Friday's 106-86 Mad Ants victory over Reno sounded as though the Memorial Coliseum P.A. announcer's voice was stuck on record: "Sadiel Rojas - for threeeeeeeeeee."

Ants set wins record, set sights on playoffs

Steve Warden — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Mad Ants had a cozy 18-point lead midway through the fourth quarter when guard Demetri McCamey barreled over a Reno player for a charging foul, prompting Ants coach Duane Ticknor to shout "dammit," quickly followed by a 20-second timeout that he changed to a full one because he had a lot to say.

Ant making most of chance

Steve Warden — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Mad Ants rookie forward Tony Mitchell didn't have to wait for teammate Ron Howard to get hurt to go on a hefty scoring run. He was already on it.

Ants back in pack in crowded playoff race

Steve Warden — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

You know that bit of breathing room the Mad Ants got Saturday night when Rio Grande Valley beat Erie to bump the Ants into seventh place in the D-League playoff chase? Consider the same wind taken out of the Ants' sails.

Mitchell nets 47 as Ants survive

Steve Warden — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Even at the late hour, in a maddening Mad Ants game that pushed the pulse rate and the three-hour mark, the bank was open. And did the Mad Ants ever cash in.

Strong performances jump Ants over .500

STEVE WARDEN — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The answer to the entomology question is yes: Ants can jump. In fact, the Mad Ants leapfrogged Maine in the East Division of the NBA Development League standings Thursday with a convincing 107-93 victory over the Red Claws at Memorial Coliseum.

Mad Ants face key stretch in playoff push

Steve Warden — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Just before he laced up his shoes for Wednesday morning's practice, point guard Anthony Harris was adamant that, heck yes, he was keeping close watch on the D-League standings. With the Mad Ants a game out of a possible playoff spot and three critical home games staring them down, why wouldn't he.

D-League capsule: Mad Ants at Springfield

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 3 p.m. today Where: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Mass. Records: Mad Ants 21-20; Springfield 15-25 TV: MyTV Webcast: www.fortwaynehoops.com

Ants forward making most of opportunity

Steve Warden — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Just before the ball went up for the Mad Ants' game against Bakersfield last Sunday, Ants coach Duane Ticknor called starting forward Anthony Richardson to his side and asked the 6-foot-7 forward's opinion on the first play the team would run.

Ants lose game, likely top scorer

STEVE WARDEN — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Mad Ants might have lost more than a tough game Sunday afternoon; they might have given up on their leading scorer and rebounder for the season.

Ants' role players step up when called on

Steve Warden — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Basketball has its chest-thumpers and its chest-bumpers. The thumpers are the players who, on occasion after they score, fist-thump their heart and point to the crowd.

Mad Ants hold on to get back to .500

Steve Warden — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The heartburn question was whether the Mad Ants could live off their 17-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Ants eye playoffs; strong finish is key

Steve Warden — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The unofficial countdown to the NBA D-League playoffs hasn't begun yet with the Mad Ants because a fourth of the season still remains. But with 13 games left, including today's 7 p.m. meeting with Canton at Memorial Coliseum, the team is aware of the challenge before it.

Mitchell helps Ants run past Stampede

Journal Gazette — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Tony Mitchell's 27 points paced the Mad Ants to a 109-98 victory Saturday over the Idaho Stampede at Memorial Coliseum, in front of 4,253 fans.

Mitchell takes over in OTs

Steve Warden — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Once Tony Mitchell got off the bench, got out of his in-game slump, got active and got hot, the 6-foot-8 NBA D-League all-star forward put the Mad Ants on the shoulders of his No. 18 jersey and carried them to a 119-110 double-overtime victory over Springfield at Memorial Coliseum on Friday.

Maddening immaturity

Steve Warden — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

There are only so many cheeks Tony Mitchell can turn; so many times that a man can hold his tongue; so many demons from within to slay, only to have them reappear.

Ants coach blasts lack of effort'

Steve Warden — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Why did Duane Ticknor slam the basketball against the coaches' locker room door? Probably because be couldn't throw a player.

Mad Ants forward Harangody hurting

Steve Warden — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Even though Luke Harangody ran the length of the Concordia Seminary gym floor during Monday's practice, it still doesn't guarantee that he'll be in the lineup tonight when the Mad Ants face Erie tonight at Memorial Coliseum "We'll see how he feels in the morning," Ants coach Duane Ticknor said late Monday afternoon. "It's probably more of a long shot.

Ants' long vacation over

Steve Warden — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

The last time we looked in on the Mad Ants, they had just taken down the Iowa Energy 119-98 in Des Moines. The following day - Feb. 10 - they flew back into Fort Wayne, from where nearly everyone on the team went their separate ways for an early spring vacation.

Howard still chasing NBA dream

Steve Warden — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

When the Coliseum lights are low and the public address announcer is in full crescendo with his starting lineup introductions, veteran guard Ron Howard is the last to climb from the bench - a time-honored basketball tradition usually reserved for the team's best player. Jordan got it. Kobe gets it. LeBron gets it.

Ants get energy from 3-pointers

Journal Gazette — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Tony Mitchell made 8 of 16 shots, including 6 of 9 from three-point range, in leading the Mad Ants to a 119-98 victory over the Iowa Energy on Saturday night in front of 5,619 fans at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Mitchell finished with 25 points.

Mad Ants suffer deflating defeat

Steve Warden — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

This is the way the night went for the Mad Ants.

Ants must shake off loss quickly

Ben Smith — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Duane Ticknor had his out, but he zipped past it like a man missing his exit. "Any effect from the fact that it was your third game in five nights?' the Mad Ants coach was asked Wednesday, in the wake of Fort Wayne's nearly wire-to-wire 106-99 stumble against Sioux Falls.

Coach rips Ants' effort

Ben Smith — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

He hoisted the shot from two or three long strides over the midcourt line, and of course it went in. That kind of night, right.

Backup guard gives Ants dazzling play

Steve Warden — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

The kid in the Mad Ants shirt with the ticket stub that he just laid out for Anthony Harris to autograph fidgeted a while until the seated Harris smiled and said hello. "Uh, nice game," the boy - probably 9 or 10 - said as he watched Harris carefully sign the ticket.

Mitchell scores 32 to lead Mad Ants

STEVE WARDEN — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Even after Tony Mitchell missed the first shot he took, a three-pointer on the Mad Ants' second possession, coach Duane Ticknor applauded the effort and shouted from the sideline, "There you go."

D-League preview: Mad Ants vs. Canton

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 7:30 p.m. today; 7 p.m. Monday Where: Canton, Ohio, today; Memorial Coliseum, Monday Records: Mad Ants 13-14; Canton 17-11 Web: www.fortwaynehoops.com

Ants happy with road trip

Steve Warden — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

The last time the Mad Ants played a home game, Christmas lights - even some trees - were still up. On Jan. 5, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o still had a secret, and Beyonce actually sang, but not at NHL games.

Ants' 9-game road swing ends with loss

JOURNAL GAZETTE — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Mad Ants ended a stretch of nine consecutive games on the road with a 111-78 loss to the Erie BayHawks in Erie, Pa., on Sunday.

Mad Ants top Bayhawks

Journal Gazette — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

Luke Harangody scored 29 points to lead the Mad Ants to a 107-96 victory Friday night over the Erie Bayhawks at Tulio Arena in Erie, Pa.

Mad Ants find right mixture for success

Steve Warden — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

What do phosphorous trichloride, binary compounds, nitrous oxide and the resurrection of the Mad Ants all have in common.

Capsule: Mad Ants at Erie

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 7 p.m. today; 2 p.m. Sunday Where: Erie, Pa. Records: Mad Ants 11-13, Erie 12-9 Web cast: www.fortwaynehoops.com

Mad Ants at Canton

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 7 p.m. today Where: Canton, Ohio Records: Mad Ants 11-12, Canton 14-10 Webcast: www.fortwaynehoops.com

D-League preview: Mad Ants at Bakersfield

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 10 p.m. today Where: Bakersfield, Calif. Records: Mad Ants 11-10, Bakersfield 13-7 Web: www.fortwaynehoops.com

D-League preview: Mad Ants vs. Los Angeles

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 10 p.m. today Where: El Segundo, Calif. Records: Mad Ants 10-10, Los Angeles 6-10 Web: www.fortwaynehoops.com

D-League preview: Mad Ants at Erie

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: 7 p.m. today Where: Tulio Arena, Erie, Pa. Records: Mad Ants 9-10, Erie 10-6 Web: NBADLeague.com Mad Ants leaders: Ron Howard (20 ppg); Luke Harangody (13.4 rpg); Howard (4.6 apg)

Ants get win streak to 6 straight

Journal Gazette — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Mad Ants used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Tulsa 66ers, 121-115 Thursday at the NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, Nev. It was Fort Wayne's sixth straight victory and improved its record to 9-10.

Mad Ants at D-League Showcase

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

When: vs. Rio Grande Valley, 1 p.m. today; vs. Tulsa, 1 p.m. Thursday Where: Reno, Nev. Records: Mad Ants 7-10; Rio Grande Valley 8-7; Tulsa 8-7 TV: NBA TV Web cast: www.fortwaynehoops.com

Suddenly hot Ants capture 4th in row

Steve Warden — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 03:00:00 EST

Santa Cruz came into Fort Wayne with the best record in the NBA D-League at 9-2 and as the hottest team with a five-game winning streak.