Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Red Claws' mind-set needs reset

Maine can't follow up on its road win a night earlier, getting blown out at home by Springfield.

By MARK JEANNERET Special to the Press Herald

PORTLAND - Dave Leitao was succinct and to the point in his assessment of his team's performance against the Springfield Armor Sunday afternoon.

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Kenny Hayes of the Red Claws looks for an opening in Springfield’s defense during Sunday’s game at the Portland Expo. Maine lost to the Armor for the fourth time in five meetings this season.

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Jerome Randle of the Red Claws uses a pick to drive past Springfield’s Jerry Smith on his way to the basket Sunday at the Portland Expo.

Photos by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

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The Maine Red Claws coach simply didn't think his team arrived at the Portland Expo with the type of mental readiness that it takes for continued success.

"We talked about it before the game, it's mind-set," Leitao said after the Red Claws dropped a 120-94 decision to the Armor in a NBA D-League game played in front of 3,045.

"I thought the adjustment that (Springfield) made wasn't physical, it was mental. We played very laissez-faire and lackadaisical, and they smelled it and took advantage of it. That's why the score was the way it was from start to finish. It wasn't like it was gradual, it was from the jump ball."

The loss slowed a good recent run for the Red Claws (7-14), who had won three of their last four outings, including a 104-97 victory over the Armor on Saturday night in Springfield.

The middle game of what will be three straight against Springfield (the two teams meet again Thursday in Springfield) was owned by the Armor (10-10) virtually from start to finish.

The visitors used a pair of 10-2 runs in the opening quarter to build a 30-21 lead. Lance Hurdle drained two 3-pointers in each outburst.

Hurdle, one of four Armor players who scored 20 or more points, finished with eight 3-pointers, tying a Springfield franchise record. He scored a team-high 24 points.

Springfield took complete control in the second quarter, using an early 14-0 run to increase its advantage to 44-24 before the quarter reached the halfway point. Damian Johnson capped that sequence with six straight points, while the Red Claws didn't score for five minutes.

"The adjustment we made was that we made the shots that we missed (Saturday) night," said Springfield Coach Bob MacKinnon.

"I think it was as simple as that. You know, sometimes they go in and sometimes they don't."

The Red Claws finally found their range, draining three consecutive 3-pointers. Unfortunately for the home side, the sharp shooting was matched by the Armor, who answered each 3-pointer with one of their own leaving, Maine still down by 20.

Springfield held a 64-42 lead at halftime.

"They made us pay for every mistake we made," said Red Claws guard Jerome Randle, who scored 28 points.

"They had a great game plan and we just have to come back and try to do a better job with our game plan to beat them."

The Armor, who shot 54.5 percent from the field, continued their barrage in the third quarter. A 16-4 run, featuring three Hurdle 3-pointers, early in the quarter all but ended any comeback hopes for the Red Claws. Springfield led 100-70 heading into the final quarter.

"They came out with a different mind-set," said Randle. "We came to their house and beat them and they were determined to come back and play a little harder.

"Today they made adjustments, and I feel we like we probably should have done something else or made other adjustments to attack them differently. That's just the way the game goes, and we need to just come out Thursday and just do a better job of attacking them instead of them attacking us."