Canton Charge unable to hold lead in fourth after dramatic rally
It took over three quarters for the Canton Charge to gel enough to take a one point lead against the Raptors 905. Both teams seemed to have problems with ball handling and shooting as the fans were entertained by a variety of comic “Globe Trotterish” situations on the court. Added to the Charge’s woes were a number of “interesting” penalty calls by the officials that seemed to kill any number of rallies by the home team.
Trailing the entire first three quarters, the Canton Charge, powered by the World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers, fought back from a 20 point deficit to take the lead at the 11:20 mark in the fourth. A Cameron Jones three pointer began an 11-0 run that allowed Canton to pull ahead.
With the score locked in at 97 points each the Raptor’s Axel Toupane became unstoppable as he single handily hit 7-0 run as the 905’s took a late game lead of 104-97. Kay Felder hit from the three points arch with four seconds remaining that cut the lead to four points but the ensuing intentional foul on Toupane added two more as the Raptors 905 defeated the Canton Charge 112-107 in the first game of the NBA Development Playoffs this past Wednesday evening.
The two teams now travel north to Mississauga, Canada for the second game in the three game series that will be held on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Of the five Canton starters, four recorded double-doubles that started with Kay Felder (who tied a Canton Charge playoff record) tacking up 31 points and 12 assists in 39 minutes of play. Roosevelt Jones returned to the Charge line-up after missing the last two games to post 12 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Jonathan Holmes was good for 16 points and 10 rebounds with teammate Eric Moreland adding 11 points and 10 rebounds.
On the Raptor’s side it was Toupane who led the way with a game high 41 points on 12-of-21 shooting in 36 minutes of play. Eddy Tavares was once again strong against the Charge as he hit for 10 points and 16 rebounds in 32 minutes. Off the bench, Brady Heslip scored 15 points that included a 4-of-8 three point run while handing out four assists.
Fans can catch the Saturday, April 8, 2017 contest on Facebook Live.
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.
