Herd fall to Memphis 126-108 at home

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Charlie Bruecker / Advance-Titan — Wisconsin’s Lindell Wigginton defends a Windy City Bulls player March 4.

Jacob Link, Co-Sports Editor

The Wisconsin Herd dropped to 13th in the Eastern Conference of the NBA G League after falling to the Memphis Hustle 126-108 March 13 at the Oshkosh Arena.

The Herd (9-18) would need to win each of their remaining five regular-season games and would need the teams above them in the standings to lose every game if Wisconsin has any hope of making the G League playoffs.

Forward Elijah Hughes led the Herd with 21 points and three steals against the Hustle, who are second in the Western Conference. Center Paris Bass scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists in the contest. Off the bench, Jontay Porter finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Iverson Molinar added 16 points while Alex Antetokounmpo scored 10 points for the Herd, who shot 30% (12-for-44) from behind the arc in the game.

For Memphis (19-6), Center Matt Hurt scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed six rebounds. Guards Dakota Mathias and Jacob Gilyard were on fire from behind the arc, scoring 20 points each and shooting a combined 10-for-17 from the 3-point line. The Hustle shot over 50% from the floor in the game and outrebounded the Herd 51-44.

The Herd jumped out to a 4-2 lead early in the first quarter, but the Hustle went on a 10-0 run midway through the period to take a 24-11 lead. Memphis maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the first quarter and led 37-23 at the break.

Memphis outscored Wisconsin 40-33 in the second quarter, going 13-24 from the field with seven 3-pointers in the period. Porter scored eight straight points for the Herd at the end of the half, but Wisconsin went into the locker room trailing 77-56.

The teams traded baskets for most of the third quarter until the Herd narrowed the lead to 17 points after an Antetokounmpo layup, but the Hustle ended the period on an 8-2 run to take a 106-83 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Memphis started the fourth quarter on a 10-0, but the Herd responded with a 22-6 run midway through the period to cut the deficit to 17 points. Wisconsin outscored the Hustle 25-20 in the final quarter, but it was too little too late for the Herd, who found themselves down 18 points when the game ended.

Wisconsin, who has gone 4-6 in its last 10 games, will face off against the Maine Celtics (16-11) March 15 at the Oshkosh Arena.