Canton Charge pulverize Fort Wayne Mad Ants in front of huge crowd
It was Youth Basketball Night as well as Free Canton Charge Socks Night as 3,738 vocal fans filled Canton Memorial Civic Center as the Canton Charge (16-11), powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers, downed the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (17-10), 124-115.
The game was even steven until 3:27 of the opening quarter when Canton hit for a 16-4 run as they took the lead for a second time and held it for the duration of the game. In the first twelve, Canton outscored Fort Wayne 36-22 as they hit an impressive 14-of-18 as a team. At one point the Charge pulled ahead by as many as 24 as the best Fort Wayne could do was make it to a seven point deficit.
Jonathan Holmes put on a fourth quarter show scoring 16 of his season high 27 along with nine rebounds and a season high five steals in 29 minutes of playing time. Eric Moreland boasted his 11th double-double of this season scoring 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes. Overall, Canton shot 60% hitting 45-75 shots as a team for a new single game season high. Other Charge members who had an extempore night on the court were Quinn Cook with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting with six assists and two steals in 36 minutes, John Holland with 18 points, seven boards, six assists and two steals in 42 minutes. Chris Evans was good for 19 points and three steals in 33 minutes and Mike Dunigan came off the bench for 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 13 minutes.
The Mad Ants’ Trey McKinney-Jones tried to keep pace with 29 points of his own on 12-of-19 shooting with three steals in 45 minutes. Julyan Loyd scored 16 points and nine assists in 42 minutes on the court. This is the fifth defeat in a row suffered by Fort Wayne against the Canton Charge.
The Canton Charge is part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Majority Owner and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League, both of which play their games at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.