Express guard Antoinne Morgano holds the ball to find an open teammate during Saturday's 133-108 win over the Red Riders.
The Jersey Express in their 133-108 win over the New York Red Riders proved why they were ranked as the No. 2 team in the American Basketball Association rankings. Not only they shot 53.6 percent from the field, they scored over 130 points for the fourth time this season. Saturday's game at East Orange Campus High School is the Express' fifth-straight win at home.
Three Express players scored 20 or more points as the team played a fast-paced game against their division rivals. Express guard Antoinne Morgano scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half. Ahmad Mosby is another Express guard that had a big performance with 21 points and nine assists.
Express forward Devin Davis played an all-around game on both sides of the court as the Red Rider defense struggled to guard him. The 6-7 forward had a double-double of 24 points and 14 rebounds along with three blocks.
"He is becoming more active and more comfortable with his role," said Express head coach Cassandra Smith. "He knows he can't stand around and wait for the ball to find him."
The Red Riders (6-8) trailed 35-25 at the end of the first quarter before pulling themselves back into the game with an 18-9 run with 6:20 left in the second quarter. But the Express (11-3), after leading 44-43, finished the second quarter with a 23-6 run that changed the momentum of the entire game due to Morgano's monster performance. The Express led 67-49 at halftime.
"[Morgano] is one of our best finishers on the team," said Express forward Elijah Thorpe. "I feel he is one of the best off-the-ball players in the league. He always find his way to an open basket."
Morgano, Mosby, and Davis continued to get hot in the second half as the Express continued to control a double-digit lead. Not even two alley-oop dunks to Red Rider guard Will Richards gave the Red Riders any spark of making a comeback.
Red Rider head coach Kamal Bradford was frustrated with his team's performance, giving his players an earful in nearly every team timeout. The Express' fast-paced game slowed down the Red Rider defense in the second half.
"We were not being focus and did not come out with a lot of intensity," Bradford said.
The head coach, however, has full confidence of his team bouncing back from another crushing loss to the Express. While the team awaits to find out from the ABA on their next opponent, Bradford plans to push his team harder for the next three days of practice.
"Whoever we'll play will be in trouble because we will be on fire," Bradford said. "If the next team doesn't come to the next game, that would be because they don't have any legs."
The Express will be in Maryland tonight for another division rival game against the Maryland Marvels at 7. They will play their next home game this Saturday against the Pittsburgh Phantoms.
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