York drops 45 points in Mad Ants' loss

Gabe York scored a career-best 45 points, but his Mad Ants lost 138-126 to the Maine Celtics on Thursday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

York converted 14 of 26 shots, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds in front of an announced crowd of 1,210.

The Mad Ants had defeated the Celtics 130-129 in overtime at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

The Celtics (5-4) had four players score at least 20 points – Sam Hauser with 29, including 7-of-15 shooting from 3-point range, Denzel Valentine with 23, Bruno Fernando with 22 and Deonte Burton with 20. Valentine had 17 rebounds and Fernando 10, as the Celtics edged the Mad Ants 53-44 on the boards.

Valentine’s 3-pointer with 2:24 remaining in the fourth quarter put the Celtics out of range at 129-118.

Maine shot 54% from the field and Fort Wayne shot 41%, getting 18 points from Justin Anderson, who had eight rebounds and eight assists.

Nate Hinton added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Mad Ants (3-5). Walt Lemon Jr. had 14 points and eight assists, with Will Voorhees adding 13 points.

The Mad Ants face the Windy City Bulls at 8 p.m. Saturday at Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

jcohn@jg.net