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.FORT WAYNE – When: 7:30 p.m. today; 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Coliseum today; Des Moines, Saturday
Records: Mad Ants 1-2, Iowa 0-1
Web cast:
Mad Ants leaders: Ron Howard (23.7 ppg), JaJuan Johnson (10.3 rpg), Walker Russell Jr. (5.0 apg)
Iowa leaders: Chris Wright, Mustapha Farrakhan (20.0 ppg), Ben Story (10.0 rpg), Wright (9.0 apg)
Key matchup: This appears to be a matchup between a pair of high-scoring backcourts. Wright and Farrakhan both scored 20 points in Iowa’s 107-98 season-opening loss at Sioux Falls, while the Ants can answer with Howard and Russell. Iowa’s pair of front-liners, 6-foot-9 Kenny Lawson and 6-11 Ben Strong, had five points each against Sioux Falls.
The skinny: The Ants can salvage their four-game home stand by beating Energy at home tonight. The same teams will board a bus and go to Des Moines for a rematch Saturday night. Johnson had his best game in the Ants’ 86-75 victory over Canton on Wednesday when the former Purdue All-American had 14 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Newly acquired forward Tony Mitchell had a big debut with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 5 steals.
