Behind Mac McClung’s 44 points, the Delaware Blue Coats defeated the Raptors 905 141-129 for their first home victory of the season on Friday, Nov. 18.
After dropping their first two home games to the Capital City Go-Go, the Blue Coats came out swinging. An early offensive outburst helped the Coats take a 16-9 lead, forcing the Raptors to take a timeout. The Raptors showed that this was going to be a display of offensive firepower, as they outscored the Coats 17-7 after the timeout, quickly erasing the deficit and taking a 26-22 lead.
“They’re a good team,” McClung said. “I think we gotta be better on defense, taking care of the ball late, including myself… it’s the G League, it’s a game of runs but I think we’ll progress as we go.”
The Coats were holding on to a 41-36 lead entering the second quarter when McClung began to heat up. After scoring eight in the first quarter, McClung added another 13 in the second, scoring at all three levels and responding whenever the Raptors would come within striking distance.
“It’s great when we got players like Mac [McClung] who can go for 40,” guard Charlie Brown Jr. said.
After one half of play both teams were shooting well, with the Coats having the advantage in just about every stat. The Raptors shot 47.8% from the field, including 33.3% from beyond the arc in the first half. Meanwhile, the Coats shot 59.2% from the field, including 55.6% from beyond the arc, which propelled them to an 85-72 lead at half.
The Coats and McClung did not slow down in the second half. McClung started the second half with an and-one three pointer, giving him the first four points of his 11 point quarter.
“It felt good,” McClung said. “I think the biggest thing with the G League is to stay the course… There’s going to be highs and lows and today was a high but I’m just gonna continue to stack the days and try to become the best version of myself.”
Both teams saw their shooting percentages drop in the second half, but McClung and Brown Jr. continued to will their team to victory.
“Charlie [Brown Jr.] and Pat [Patrick McCaw] were great tonight,” McClung said. “They did so many things to help us win, they’re great players so to have those guys step up like they did is great.”
The fourth quarter was the McClung and Brown Jr. show, as they combined for 24 of the team’s 32 fourth quarter points to officially ice the game and walk away with the win.
“Coach [Head Coach Coby Karl] said I was the difference,” Brown Jr. said. “I didn’t really see it but he said they missed my energy.”
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