After losing three straight games last week, the BayHawks were able to get two of those wins back. With those wins, the Erie BayHawks have clinched the Southeast Division and will play in the G-League playoffs.
Friday night, Erie avenged a 4-point loss last week to the Westchester Knicks as John Gillon stepped up again in place of Josh Magette (who was recalled to Atlanta) with 24 points in a 100-96 victory.
.@Cuse_MBB alum @John_Gillon1 is taking control for the @ErieBayHawks!
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 24, 2018
He has 2⃣2⃣ points entering the 4th quarter, as the @ErieBayHawks lead by 7!@ErieBayHawks 75 / @wcknicks 68
📺: https://t.co/oIkoLKGsSl pic.twitter.com/nGwRGwBbRH
Despite the loss, Westchester clinched the top seed in the Eastern conference and earns a first-round bye.
Saturday, Erie returned the favor to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants as Gillon would go off again, this time with a 40-point explosion in a 113-99 win.
Have a night, @John_Gillon1!
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 25, 2018
The @Cuse_MBB product led the @ErieBayHawks to the division-clinching win with a career-high 4⃣0⃣ points, to go with 9⃣ dimes 👀 pic.twitter.com/YjlBj5c1Bi
The win locked up the Southeast Division Title as Erie held the tiebreaker going 3-1 against the Lakeland Magic.
News and Notes
- Despite averaging only 9 PPG in 8 starts this year, John Gillon has had 6 games of 20+ points this season.
- Raphiael Putney scored 32 points in Saturday’s win over Fort Wayne and has averaged 16.3 PPG and 8.2 RPG this season.
- Chris McCollough (on assignment with the Washington Wizards) has only appeared in 12 G-League games this season. However, he’s averaged 11.2 PPG in 21 MPG.
- Head Coach Josh Longstaff was recognized by Medium.com’s 2 Ways & 10 Days G-League site as the coach of the year. There’s no debate that the Hawks organization has had the best run of 2-way players in 2017-18.
- After signing 2 10-day contracts, Jaylen Morris and the Atlanta Hawks reached agreement on a multi-year deal, despite Morris going down with a ankle sprain in the Hawks March 11 loss to the Chicago Bulls
Soaring To The Playoffs
2018 is the first season that the G-League will have 12 playoff teams rather than 8 in previous seasons. The BayHawks were awarded the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference and face Lakeland in a single elimination round with the winner facing Westchester.
The Playoff Bracket is as follows:
The #GLeaguePlayoffs bracket is set!
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 25, 2018
First of 3 single-elimination rounds tips off Tuesday:
7 pm/et, @ESPNU: @LakelandMagic-@ErieBayHawks
8 pm/et, @Twitch: @TexasLegends-@RGVVipers
9:15 pm/et, @ESPNU: @SouthBayLakers-@OKCBlue
» https://t.co/h4K6j5fjr9 pic.twitter.com/WFAPrg82WL
All conference playoffs will be single-elimination rounds and the G-League finals will be a best of 3 series.
Next: An Appreciation of the 60-Win Hawks Team
No official word whether Andrew White, Josh Magette, or Tyler Cavanaugh will return to Erie’s playoff matchup on Tuesday night.