PORTLAND — Morris Almond has won his share of games with last-second shots. Friday night, he proved he can make a late-game difference on defense as well.
Almond blocked a shot by Robert Vaden with two seconds left to save the Maine Red Claws’ 100-99 victory over the Tulsa 66ers at the Portland Expo. The loss eliminated Tulsa from playoff contention.
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Maine (20-29) nearly blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead, scoring just 15 points in the final period, but held on because of Almond’s defensive play.
“The guy we rely on to score all the time makes a great defensive play to win it,” said Maine Coach Dave Leitao. “Vaden tried to drive on Mo. Hands up, good block.”
“Mo is our best scorer,” said point guard Kenny Hayes, who led the Red Claws with 23 points. “But a lot of people don’t realize he’s probably one of our best rebounders. And when he wants to play defense, Mo can lock you up.”
The Red Claws appeared in control when Hayes hit two free throws for a 99-94 lead with 22.4 seconds left. But then Hayes knocked down Larry Owens as Owens threw in a 3-pointer from in front of the Red Claws’ bench with 18 seconds left. Owens hit the foul shot and it was suddenly 99-98.
Xavier Silas hit the second of two foul shots with 17.3 seconds left for a 100-98 lead. Then Hamady Ndiaye of Maine fouled Jerome Dyson, who had a game-high 26 points, with 13.5 seconds left.
Dyson hit the first but missed the second. Tulsa’s Marcus Lewis got the rebound and passed to Vaden, who missed a jumper. The ball was tipped around, back to Vaden on the right wing.
“My man set a screen so we switched and it was one-on-one,” said Almond, who finished with 18 points. “He drove, I contested it and got a fingertip on it. That was enough.
“They had us on our heels a bit (after the four-point play by Owens). We just wanted to get out of here with a win.”
This wasn’t a pretty game for the most part. Tulsa’s defense slowed it, forcing Maine to play at a much more deliberate pace than it wanted. But the Red Claws got untracked in the third quarter, moving from a 52-51 halftime lead to 85-73 entering the fourth.
“We’re at our best when we play fast,” said forward Lawrence Hill, who had 14 points and eight rebounds. “Then what we did in the third, I think we got away from it in the fourth.”
Or as Leitao said, “We flat-lined in the fourth.”
A Silas reverse layup gave Maine a 91-76 lead with 7:47 left. Then Tulsa, fighting for its playoff life, regrouped and held Maine to nine points the rest of the way. But the Red Claws held on and, said Almond, that was important.
“We talked about this in practice, we wanted to finish these games strong,” said Almond. “We didn’t want to put in a poor effort, not in front of our home fans.”
NOTES: Tonight’s game will be the annual Fan Appreciation night. Following the game, the entire team will remain on the court for an autograph session. The first 1,000 fans will receive a reusable tote bag, corresponding with the end of the D-League’s Green Week. Julia Clukey, the U.S. Olympic luger from Augusta, was honored during Friday’s game. She was presented the TD Bank Home Court Hero award for her humanitarian and community service work in Maine. Clukey was also noted as the Red Claws’ honorary captain. Yarmouth’s Class B state championship boys’ basketball team was honored during a timeout in the third quarter. Dirigo’s Class C state championship boys’ basketball team was also honored during a first-quarter timeout.
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
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