ERIE, Pa. — They started great, but their finish wasn’t good enough.

The Maine Red Claws blew a five-point halftime lead in losing a second consecutive game to the Erie BayHawks, 109-91 before a crowd of 2,512 at Tullio Arena.

“We were able to come out and play harder than they did in the first half,” Maine Coach Austin Ainge said. “In the second half, you’ve got to give them credit. They turned it back up and were able to push us around and get the baskets they needed.”

DeShawn Sims had 20 points for the Red Claws and Sherron Collins played better than he did in his D-League debut Friday night, but Maine’s 29 turnovers led to 36 Erie points.

“We helped them out with some silly turnovers,” Ainge said.

The BayHawks opened the second half with 20-5 run to take a 77-67 lead with 5 minutes, 23 seconds left in the third quarter.

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“We were pumped to play them again after what they did to us (Friday), and in the second half, we just came out relaxed,” Sims said.

After losing by 49 points to the BayHawks (5-3) Friday night, Maine (3-6) shot 60 percent in the first half to build a 62-57 halftime lead.

In Friday’s 120-71 loss, Maine shot 31.6 percent in the first half and fell behind by 32 points at the break.

Then came the second half.

Erie took control with its 20-5 run to open the third quarter as Maine committed seven turnovers during that stretch.

The Red Claws turned the ball over on five straight possessions.

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“We were trying to make the spectacular play instead of the easy play,” said Maine guard Tamar Smith, who had 10 turnovers.

Rookie forward Tasmin Mitchell led Erie with 20 points and 12 rebounds as Erie had six players score in double figures.

Mitchell had 12 of his 20 points in the second half.

“Tasmin Mitchell was a beast,” Ainge said. “He just pushed our guys around. We were switching and putting small guys on the post guys and he just refused to be fronted.”

Without power forward Tiny Gallon to help defend underneath for a second straight game because of a back injury, Maine gave up 80 points in the paint.

“Tiny is a big guy,” Sims said. “He holds down the middle defensively and offensively. We’re a small team and we’re even smaller without him.”

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Collins rebounded from a five-point, 2-for-11 shooting effort Friday to score 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He had just two assists and turned it over three times, but he looked more adjusted with his new teammates.

“I got more comfortable a little bit,” Collins said.

Collins, the Charlotte Bobcats’ rookie point guard out of Kansas, said he expects to play four games in his D-League assignment. The Red Claws play their next game at home Thursday against Idaho.

“Just got to keep getting in shape and get ready,” Collins said. “Got to get my wind under me and try to build off this game.”


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