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.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.
Harangody – the former Notre Dame star – also had 17 rebounds, 16 of which came at the defensive end, for the Mad Ants who were without guard Ron Howard (knee).
Tony Mitchell added 23 points for the Mad Ants (12-13), who were up nine points before a 26-18 run in the third quarter.
Anthony Harris and Anthony Richardson both scored 14 points for Fort Wayne. Darryl Partin had 13 points for the Mad Ants.
Erie (12-10) was paced by Henry Sims, who scored 30 points in front of 2,723 fans.
Defense was key for the Mad Ants; they had eight steals in the game and forced the Bayhawks into 18 turnovers, nine more than the visitors.
Both teams shot better than 45 percent from the field, but Fort Wayne was 8 of 24 from three-point range while Erie was 3 of 11.
