Duane Ticknor, a minor-league coaching veteran who led the Dakota Wizards to back-to-back playoff appearances from 2007 to ’09, will be the next head coach of the Mad Ants.
FORT WAYNE – During Sunday’s game against the Mad Ants, the visiting Canton Charge had three times in which they missed three or more consecutive shots; once in the first quarter, once early in the fourth, and then once again in the final 21.5 seconds of the game.
And for the first time not only this calendar year, but in five games, the Ants won an NBA D-League game. They survived the harried finish, 104-103, to choke off a losing streak that had stretched to four. It was also just the second victory at home in seven games.
Darington Hobson, the slender, 6-foot-7 prospect sent to the Ants (5-8) last week from the Milwaukee Bucks, hit a 17-foot jump shot with 21.5 seconds remaining to erase a 1-point deficit. On the final possession, Canton (7-7) got an open look from guard Keith McLeod, whose 10-footer from the right side was too strong off the glass. In the ensuing scrum, the Charge had two more shots within 12 feet, with the last one squirting away toward the Mad Ants’ bench as the buzzer sounded.
“It seemed like they kept tipping it and tipping it and tipping it,” Ants coach Joey Meyer said. “We’ve got to obviously come up with that rebound. And I keep telling them, ‘We’ve got to make that play at the end.’ ”
Nothing was secure until the ball rolled away for the final time. The Ants trailed by as many as nine points, and their largest lead was five, and that was 31 seconds into the second quarter.
For the most part, it was Canton that held the upper hand, as well as a hot hand. By making 11 of 16 shots from three-point range, the Charge kept the Ants at bay.
The Ants had slipped into a 94-87 deficit when Meyer called for a timeout with 6:24 remaining.
“I called timeout and we got down five or seven, and I said, ‘We’ve been in this situation now, and we’ve kind of hung our head,’ ” Meyer said. “We are going to find a way. … And the guys did. They really competed.”
Ron Howard came out of the timeout with a jumper from the free throw line. Hobson drained a three-pointer from the right corner, and Howard hit another jumper off a pump fake. In under two minutes, the Ants had caught Canton at 94, setting up the race to the finish.
Darnell Lazare led the Ants with 24 points, while Hobson had 22 and Howard, 21.
Notes: The Ants traded veteran forward Marvin Phillips Jr. to Erie for a fourth-round draft pick next season.
