Canton Charge win nail biter against Greensboro Swarm; break 8 game losing streak.
As the final seconds ticked away and the score tied 94 all, Cavaliers’ 2-Way forward Deng Adel hit a 21-foot jump shot leaving a mere 1.1 seconds on the clock as the Canton Charge (13-23) won a tightly contested match with the Greensboro Swarm (19-19), 96-94 snapping an eight game losing streak along with a four game in a row loss record at home.
Neither team could gain dominance in the first half as evident with the 21 lead changes and seven ties. Canton really showed their shooting capabilities hitting 60% from the field on 12-of-20 attempts. The Swarm answered back with 55% on 11-of-20 shooting. In spite of a Charge 8-0 run in the last couple of minutes for a seven point lead Greensboro ended up leading at the half 59-56 over the home team.
The second half started out grim for the Charge as he Swarm piled up an eight point lead early on but Canton fought back with a 6-0 run of their own tying the game at 74 all with 4:51 remaining in the third. Greensboro took a timeout to regroup and had a 5-0 run taking the lead 79-74. Swarm guard Joe Chealey was good for 10 points in the third quarter as he hit 8-of-8 free throws as the referees decided to get generous with the charity strip. With only 28% shooting in the third, the Swarm still managed an 82-78 lead as the teams looked to finish if off.
Canton ramped up their defense for the last twelve minutes keeping Greensboro at bay with a paltry 22% shooting for 12 points. Starting out with a seven point deficit early on, the Charge fought back tooth and nail as Chance Comanche drove home a power dunk to tie the game at 88 with 7:19 left in the game. With time getting short and trailing 94-91 JaCorey Williams drove in a contested lay-up to inch the Charge within one point.
Chealey experienced a forced turnover which led to Deng Adel getting fouled as he hit on half of the free throws tying the game 94 all. With mere seconds left, Canton charged down the court and Adel pulled up to hit a jumper taking the lead with 1.1 seconds remaining. Greensboro took a change of inbound time-out but Canton managed to steal the ball ending the game.
Adel finished with a Charge season-high 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Sir’Dominic Pointer scored a team-high 20 points with eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 29 productive minutes off of the bench. In his second start of the season, Chance Comanche scored a season-high 19 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting.
Chealey scored a game-high 27 points in 31 minutes to pace the Swarm. Jaylen Barford had an all-around effort with 12 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in 36 minutes. Nelson finished with 15 points off of the bench. The Charge took 2-of-3 games from the Swarm this year, leading the all-time series 6-4.
The Canton Charge will be on the road for two divisional games but will return on Tuesday, February 26 2019 against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m.
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.