The Wisconsin Herd lost its second straight game after falling to the Indiana Mad Ants 130-110 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Monday night.
The Herd (9-9) dropped to eighth in the Eastern Conference with the loss and now sit a game behind the College Park Skyhawks for the final playoff spot. Wisconsin was led by guard Terence Davis, who scored 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Herd guard James Akinjo finished with 21 points and five assists while forward Henry Ellenson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The Herd shot 42.9% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range in the contest and recorded five team blocks while forcing 10 Mad Ants turnovers.
Indiana (10-5) jumped to third in the conference with the win behind two 30-point games from guard Quenton Jackson and center Jahlil Okafor. Jackson scored 34 points on 14-for-21 shooting and 4-for-5 behind the arc and dished out eight assists. Okafor recorded 30 points on a perfect 12-for-12 shooting night and recorded 11 rebounds. Guard Kyle Mangas dropped 24 points and had six assists while Stephan Hicks scored 14 points off the bench.
The Mad Ants, who outrebounded the Herd 46-44, finished the game shooting 56.7% from the floor and 41.2% from behind the arc.
The two teams swapped baskets to begin the first quarter until Jackson connected on a fadeaway jumper to kickstart a 5-0 Mad Ants run to give Indiana a 9-4 lead. Davis knocked down a 3-pointer and Badji slammed home a dunk to tie the game, but Mangas responded with a floater and the Mad Ants went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-11 lead. Indiana controlled the final five minutes of the period and let 33-24 at the break.
The Mad Ants began the second quarter with a layup from De’Vion Harmon and a jumper from Jackson, and Indiana held onto a double-digit lead for nearly the entire period to lead 67-53 at the half.
Midway through the third quarter, the Herd pulled to within 8 points after a 3-pointer from Davis and a jumper from Akinjo, but Cameron McGriff responded with a 3-pointer to put the Mad Ants on top 81-70. That was as close as Wisconsin came to Indiana in the third period, and the Mad Ants led 105-83 going into the final quarter.
The Mad Ants opened up the fourth quarter with a layup from Ishmael Lane to put Indiana up 20 points, and the Herd was unable to overcome the deficit the rest of the way.
Wisconsin will travel to Georgia to take on the College Park Skyhawks (8-6) at 2 p.m. Feb. 8.