The Motor City Cruise dropped to 4-1 after suffering their first loss of the 2023-24 season.
Why It Matters For the Motor City Cruise
The undefeated start for the Motor City Cruise came to an end after losing 117-107 to the Indiana Mad Ants. The Cruise now sit with a 4-1 record while remaining at the top of the Central Division.
Motor City went into this matchup with both Stanley Umude and Malcolm Cazalon unavailable. Umude is still contributing in serviceable minutes on his two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons. Cazalon was out of action while dealing with an undisclosed illness.
The Cruise held a lead against the Mad Ants at brief points through the second quarter. Indiana stole the lead back by halftime and maintained control from there. The Mad Ants pushed their lead as big as 18 points and were able to close out their victory by double-digits.
Motor City had regularly been one of the better G-League teams in terms of rebounding. The Mad Ants dominated the Cruise inside grabbing 68 rebounds compared to only 36 for Motor City. Indiana kept second-chance scoring opportunities alive all game grabbing 22 offensive rebounds compared to only five for the Cruise.
Zavier Simpson led all scorers in the contest with 31 points while playing 42 minutes. Jared Rhoden followed up his honors as G-League Player of the Week with another impressive outing scoring 26 points. Buddy Boeheim filled in well in the starting lineup for Cazalon scoring 16 points.
Jarace Walker led the Mad Ants in scoring with 30 points in 35 minutes of action. Oscar Tshiebwe scored 20 points while setting a Mad Ants franchise record grabbing 28 rebounds.
Motor City Cruise Vs. Indiana Mad Ants By the Numbers
Rebounds: Cruise – 36 Mad Ants – 68
Defensive Rebounds: Cruise – 31 Mad Ants – 46
Offensive Rebounds: Cruise – 5 Mad Ants – 22
Points In the Paint: Cruise – 46 Mad Ants – 66
Points Off Turnovers: Cruise – 12 Mad Ants – 17
Zavier Simpson: 31 points, 9-19 FGs, 4 assists
Jared Rhoden: 26 points, 12-19 FGs, 5 rebounds
Buddy Boeheim: 16 points, 5-13 FGs, 3-9 3-point FGs
Tosan Evbuomwan: 12 points, 6-10 FGs, 7 rebounds
Jontay Porter: 10 points, 4-16 FGs, 8 rebounds
What’s Next?
The Motor City Cruise return for home action against the Cleveland Charge on Friday at 7 P.M. Last season concluded with a matchup between the Cruise and Charge to decide a final postseason spot which resulted in the Charge advancing. Friday will be their first game against one another since that matchup.
