After falling to the Red Claws on Nov. 29 with help of Damyean Dotson and Joakim Noah, the Westchester Knicks revenged their loss against Maine with a win over their division rival. With a victory Monday, the Dub Knicks improved to 9-4 and now have sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
Trey Burke had a solid first half, finishing with 12 points. But the second half truly belonged to the Michigan product. The 6’0” guard recorded 14 points in the third quarter and had an impressive 27 point second half. Westchester held its opponent to 17 points in the third quarter.
Westchester’s defense stepped up in a huge way in the final quarter. The Knicks weren’t off to a good start , as the Red Claws came within seven points four minutes into the final quarter. A timeout by head coach Mike Miller was just what the doctor ordered. Following the timeout, the Red Claws scored seven points in the final eight minutes of the gamew. That was all the Dub Knicks needed, as their offense continued to click with team shooting about 50 percent from the field and three-point range.
Burke finished with 39 points on 16-of-25 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from deep. The 39 point performance was Burke’s second highest of the season. By recording 39 points in his short tenure in Westchester, he now has two of the top five scoring games in franchise history. Burke recorded 43 points against the Delaware 87ers in his second game with the team.
The two-way players contributed in the Knicks’ win over the Red Claws. Luke Kornet finished with 18 points and five rebounds on 4-of-6 from three-point range. As a 7’1” stretch five, Kornet continued to show his threat from deep and nailed a three in transition, which makes it more difficult for the opposition to guard him. Isaiah Hicks recorded 16 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes. While Nigel Hayes finished with 12 points, he had an overall positive impact on the game. He was active on the defensive end while contributing eight rebounds, four steals and three assists
The Westchester Knicks improved to 1-1 against Maine this season. The two teams don’t face each other until Jan. 18, as the team will play a back-to-back in Maine.
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