In front of the second-largest crowd in the history of the Oshkosh Arena, the Wisconsin Herd fell to the Rip City Remix 109-106 in overtime Feb. 24.
The Herd had 4,106 fans attend the Black History Month themed game in which Wisconsin wore special jerseys that featured the images of prominent African Americans such as the Harlem Globetrotters’ Harold “Lefty” Williams and comedian Redd Foxx.
Wisconsin enjoyed a comfortable lead for the first three quarters of the contest until Rip City began the final quarter with a layup from Romeo Weems to cut the Wisconsin lead to 10 points, but the Herd responded with a 6-0 run to build an 88-72 advantage. With seven minutes to go, the Remix embarked on a 7-2 run which cut the Herd lead to nine points following a layup from Weems. A finger roll layup from D’Moi Hodge jump started a 15-2 Remix run that put Rip City on top 96-92 with two minutes left. The Herd responded by scoring eight straight points to take a 102-98 lead, but a floater from Antoine Davis and a layup from Taze Moore tied the game at 102 with eight seconds to go, sending the contest into overtime.
In overtime, which in the G League has both teams attempt to reach a target score of seven points, was kicked off with a layup from George Conditt IV to put the Remix ahead by two points. The Herd’s Wenyen Gabriel hit a floater to tie the game a few seconds later, but a step-back 3-pointer from Moore put Rip City just two points from the target score. The Herd made things interesting with a jumper from Chris Livingston, but the Remix reached the target score of 109 after Davis nailed a floater.
“We came out in the second half, and we just boosted (our lead) in that third quarter, but we allowed too many 3-pointers and were outrebounded (down the stretch),” Herd guard James Akinjo said. “I think offensive rebounds and turnovers were the difference for sure.”
Wisconsin (12-10), which sits fifth in the Eastern Conference of the NBA G League, shot 41.8% from the field and 29.3% from behind the arc in the loss. The Herd finished with 12 steals, nine blocked shots and forced 17 Remix turnovers.
Wisconsin was without center Marques Bolden, who signed a 10-day contract with the Charlotte Hornets Feb. 20. To replace his roster spot, the Milwaukee Bucks signed guard Ryan Rollins to a two-way contract Feb. 20. Rollins, the 44th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, played 10 games for the Washington Wizards this season before being waived Jan. 8.
The Herd was led by guard Glenn Robinson III, who scored 21 points and five rebounds. Gabriel finished with 19 points and nine rebounds while Rollins added 17 points. Livingston, a Milwaukee Bucks two-way player, had a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Akinjo finished with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Akinjo said he’s loving the Herd through his first five games with the team.
“Everyone’s making me feel at home and allowing me to be myself which allows me to step in and lead,” Akinjo said. “I’m also learning a lot from coach Beno (Udrih) who was a point guard in the NBA so I’m learning a lot and having fun.”
Rip City (12-8) finished the contest shooting 46.4% from the floor and 35.1% from 3-point range. The Remix outrebounded the Herd 52-44 and had more assists (31-24).
The Remix was led by Hodge, who scored 28 points on 8-for-15 shooting from behind the arc. Conditt IV finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds on 10-for-16 shooting. Moore scored 16 points and dished out 10 assists while forward Jazian Gortman added 12 points.
Conditt IV opened the scoring in the first quarter with a driving dunk, but Akinjo responded with a free throw to tie the game 2-2 in the opening minutes. A driving reverse layup from Rollins sparked a 15-2 Wisconsin run that gave the home side an 11-point advantage. The Herd maintained a double-digit lead for most of the first period and a layup from Stephen Thompson with under a minute to go gave Wisconsin a 33-20 advantage at the break.
Wisconsin kicked off the second quarter with a 3-pointer from Thompson, and the Herd took an 18-point lead seconds later after a floater from Elijah Hughes. The Remix cut the lead down to 10 points after an 8-4 spurt, but back-to-back layups from Livingston and Rollins put the Herd back on top by 14-points. Hughes nailed a 3-pointer and Wisconsin’s Malachi Smith converted on a layup to give the Herd a 55-34 advantage with three minutes remaining in the half. Conditt threw down a dunk to cut the Herd lead to 18 points, but Smith hit a free throw with two seconds left to put Wisconsin on top 63-43 at the half.
The Remix opened the third quarter with a jumper from Anthony Duruji, and Rip City embarked on a 10-0 run to cut the Herd lead to 10 points to begin the second half. A quick 12-0 run from the Herd after a layup from Robinson put Wisconsin back on top by 22 points midway through the period. With three minutes remaining, Rip City embarked on an 11-0 run after a free throw from Conditt to cut the Wisconsin lead down to 82-70 at the break.
In their previous game against the Remix, Wisconsin was defeated 116-104 behind a 41-point performance from Davis (a franchise record) at the Oshkosh Arena Feb. 22.
“We just got to get back to the drawing board and figure out how we can rebound (better) and work on our switching,” Akinjo said. “Switching is tough because you have guards guarding big (men) so if we can figure that out, we’ll be alright.”
The Herd will hit the road to take on the Capital City Go-Go (12-9), who sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, Feb. 28 with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
