Cleveland Charge fights hard to defeat Santa Cruz Warriors

It was apparent by the number of penalties that it was a hard fought game as both teams battled it out under the baskets. In the end, the Cleveland Charge (2-2) held fast against the Santa Cruz Warriors (1-4), 116-104. Cleveland led the entire second half with Santa Cruz coming as close as five points which kept the interest of the 3,312 fans in attendance. In the end, Cleveland shut the door winning by 12. It was Retro Cavs Night presented by Bertman Original Mustard with retro Cavs t-shirts rewarded to the first 1,000 ticket holders.

This game was all two-way player Emoni Bates who scored a career-high 38 points on 13-of-24 shooting from the field and 8-of-15 from the arc along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Pete Nance earned a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards with three blocks and four assists. Malik Fitts scored a personal Charge high of 15 points with five rebounds and Zhaire Smith and Aleem Ford combined for 12 points each.

For the Warriors it was Jackson Rowe with 23 points and two blocks off the bench. Donovan Williams scored 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting. Usman Garaba scored 18 points, nine rebounds and two steals. This was the Warriors first visit to Ohio.

The Cleveland Charge goes on the road to battle the Indiana Mad Ants on Wednesday, January 10 with a 12:30 p.m. tip-off. They will be back home at the Wolstein Center on Saturday, January 13, 2024 with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against the Texas legends. It will be Braille Literacy Awareness Night. For more details go to https://cleveland.gleague.nba.com/.