Nembhard Jr's game-winner propels Capital City over Westchester Knicks

The Westchester Knicks were hungry to win in their holiday matchup against the Capital City Go-Go after a 131-125 loss against the Delaware Blue Coats last Sunday. The Knicks head coach, DeSagna Diop, was back for this home game after missing the home opener against the Blue Coats due to playing in the qualifiers for his country, Senegal. The Knicks looked to tie Greensboro Swarm for first place in the Showcase Cup Standings in the Eastern Conference, with Capital City on their heels a half-game back at 4-3 coming into the game.

It wasn’t going to be an easy task for Westchester as Capital City had a litany of guys who could score, such as star guard Ryan Nembhard Jr., who came into the game as the only non-two-way player to average over 15+ points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. They also have sharpshooters such as Leaky Black and Erik Stevenson, who have shot over 50 percent from the field, and Taylor Funk, who recently scored a career-high 27 points on five made threes on 11/16 against the Long Island Nets.

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It was all Capital City early on that stepped on the gas out the gate and jumped to a 10-2 lead on the Knicks. Knicks guard Boo Boie helped stop the bleeding before it got out of control with five quick points off a layup and made a three-pointer in back-to-back possessions that got the Knicks back into it. However, Capital City was able to push their lead to as large as 12 in the first as led by Nembhard Jr., who was uncontainable in the first, converting on all four of his shot attempts to give Capital City a 34-28 advantage.

The Capital City led all of the first, but the Knicks crept back and took their first lead in the second. They did much of their damage without the NBA G-League leading scorer heading into the matchup in T.J. Warren, who struggled shooting just 2-of-7 in the first half and foul trouble, committing his third midway through the second. Despite their star scorer's early struggles, the Knicks rallied in the second quarter, highlighted by an emphatic slam by Alex McConnell that put them up 50-42 with 5:14 to go in the quarter.

The Knicks eventually took a 10-point lead at the five-minute mark after two McConnell made free throws. However, that didn’t phase Capital City. Nembhard and Funk hit critical shots down the stretch, combining 13 points to cut their deficit to just six at the half as the Knicks led 63-57. Donovan Williams, Boie, and Damion Baugh accounted for 35 of the Knicks' 63 first-half points on 12-of-21 (57%) shooting between the trio.

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While the Knicks trio shot well, Capital City’s was even better, led by its main catalysts: Nembhard Jr. (20), Justin Champagnie (10), and Jalen McDaniels (11). Together, they combined for 51 of the 57 points on a staggering 89 percent field-goal percentage. They were uncontainable. The Knicks shot 40 percent from the field, while Capital City shot 48 percent, with the Knicks bench outscoring Capital City’s 24-4 and in the quarter 35-23.

The Knicks picked up where they left off to start the second half, going on a quick 11-0 run to increase their lead to 17 as Capital City missed their first four shot attempts, with Stevenson ending the drought on a three-pointer at the 7:28 mark. The Knicks were too much like hot lava in the third, shooting a scorching 62 percent of the field. They couldn’t miss, pushing their lead to 20 (the largest of the night).

Then the fourth quarter happened. There was an epic collapse in what seemed like an alternate universe as each team reversed roles as Capital City went red hot in the fourth, shooting 62 percent. Meanwhile, the Knicks went iceberg cold, shooting just 25 percent with one made shot outside the restricted area by Warren at the 5:45 mark, with the Knicks up 106-92. The Knicks did a poor job valuing possessions down the stretch, including unforced errors such as a shot clock violation that led to a game-tying Stevenson three to knot it up at 106 with just 2:20 left in the game.

Knicks big man Abdullah Ahmed, who eventually fouled out the game with eight points, six rebounds, and five blocks, helped give the Knicks a 108-106 lead with 1:56 remaining. Warren and Jacob Toppin scored the next two baskets to give the Knicks a four-point lead with 52.5 seconds left, as they just needed to get a defensive stop and run the clock offensively. Unfortunately, Ahmed fouled John Butler Jr., who made both free throws to make it a one-possession game.

The Knicks could not convert the next trip down as Boie fouled Stevenson, who made both shots at the charity stripe to tie the game at 112. The Knicks then tried to run the clock down as much as they could until Baugh drove to the lane and committed an offensive foul with 4.7 remaining. With a timeout left, Capital City had enough time to advance the ball to halfcourt and get a good shot.

That’s precisely what happened. The Knicks fourth-quarter shooting woes and careless turnovers down the stretch led Nembhhard Jr. to hit the go-ahead game-winning right-handed bank shot layup going right to give Capital City the 114-112 victory after a masterclass fourth-quarter performance from Capital City, who outscored the Knicks 33-15 to win the game.

Nembhard finished with a game-high 30 points on 12-of-17 from the field and a blistering 4-of-5 from downtown, paired with seven assists and five rebounds. He wasn’t alone, as he had plenty of help from Funk (20), who made three crucial threes in the fourth, McDaniels (18), Stevenson (16), and Champagnie (14).

Capital City now leapfrogs the Knicks in the standings for second place in the Eastern Conference behind Greensboro, as they are two games back in the loss column in the Showcase Cup Standings for first place. This is the third loss for the Knicks, where they lost by eight points or fewer, while Capital City’s win margin is an average of +6.2 in their wins this season.

The Knicks will look to redeem themselves in a rematch after a heartbreaking defeat at home on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern time.