Canton Charge loss to Fort Wayne Mad Ants looked like a movie
Unfortunately, the movie was “The Gang That Could Not Shoot Straight.” The Canton Charge(12-18) powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered their fourth loss to a divisional rival and their third loss in a row as the Central Division leading Fort Wayne Mad Ants (15-14) dominated in the 116-102 win on Saturday evening. A total of 3,262 fans showed up on Canton Charge sock night so the evening was not a total loss.
Canton was playing the second game in as many days for the second time this season and only managed to post 13 points from 6-of-18 shooting for 33%. Fort Wayne on the other hand forced nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes shooting 50% from the field as they led 31-13 at the end of one period. Mad Ants forward Omari Johns hit 13 first quarter points with 4-of-6 shooting.
The Charge came to life a bit in the second period as Levi Randolph made good with 14 points (6-of-6). The Mad Ants retaliated with Demetrius Denzel-Dyson scoring 12 second quarter points as Fort Wayne led by as much as 23 leading up to the half. The Mad Ants hit 10-of-20 from three point land while holding Canton to 1-of-8 from the same outer reaches. When the smoke cleared it was Fort Wayne entering the mid-game break with a comfortable 60-45 lead.
It took an all out effort for Canton to cut the lead to single digits of 63-54 with 8:07 left in the third but Fort Wayne roared back with a 5-0 run. As the teams took a quick breath going into the fourth quarter the scoreboard read 85-63 in the Mad Ants favor. In the fourth quarter Canton cut the lead to 10 with less than nine minutes remaining but Fort Wayne prevailed in their start to finish win.
For Canton it was JaCorey Williams scoring a team high 22 points with 9-of-13 shooting in 35 minutes. Randolph gave 21 points from off the bench on 9-of-16 shooting. Kobi Simmons was good for nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
In Mad Ants territory Rob Gray and Omari Johnson matched each other with 24 points each making this the third straight team victory against the Charge at the Canton Memorial Civic Center this season.
The Canton Charge return to their home court this next Wednesday, January 30, 2019 for an 11:00 a.m. contest against the Maine Red Claws.
For Charge Nation Memberships, group outings, game day promotions and up-to-date information, head to www.cantoncharge.com or call 866-444-1944. The Canton Charge are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and are also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Chairman and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League, who play their games at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.