One day after a 10-point win over the Raptors at home, the Mad Ants returned to Gainbridge Fieldhouse Tuesday, to take on the Long Island Nets, looking to break out of a three-way tie for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference.

The first half was neck-and-neck in every aspect. For every shot the Mad Ants made, the Nets followed right up and vice versa. Defensively, both teams played a tight game, pressuring each other to the highest level.

Quentin Jackson of the Mad Ants shined bright, hustling after every loose ball, driving into the paint, dunking the ball and draining three-pointers for a strong 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Jhalil Okafor and Ray J Dennis were both in double figures at halftime as well.

On the Nets’ side of things, center Drew Timme was hard to compete with, adding 15 points and 7 boards of his own. Adding in a few Mad Ants turnovers and mistakes, the Nets held a two-point lead at halftime.

Early in the second half, Jackson went down with a nasty ankle injury and the team tried their hardest to recover with Dennis really taking over the offense and stepping up to the plate. However, the Nets saw an opportunity and attacked, amping up the defensive pressure and causing multiple Mad Ants missed shots and turnovers.

Jackson returned late in the third quarter but the Nets had already taken a 15-point lead and were threatening to close things out early, but the Mad Ants snapped out of their slump and started shutting down the Nets.

What was a 15-point deficit slowly became a tied game with just a few minutes remaining. However, much like the rest of the game, it was a race to see who would make the first error, which was the Mad Ants, unfortunately. A few missed passes ended up being the deciding factor, as the Nets walked out with 114-109 victory.

The Mad Ants return to action on Sunday when they travel to Delaware to start a five-game road swing before returning home on March 24, to take on the Bulls in their final home game of the 2024-25 season.

-Reggie Edwards