Cleveland Charge gets out shined by the Grand Rapids Gold

It really was a great game as the Cleveland Charge battled it out to the end. There were some awesome shots, incredible blocks and lightning passes that brought cheers from the mouths of the 2,533 fans in attendance...unfortunately, the Charge lost.

The Cleveland Charge (1-7) of the NBA G League, presented by Cleveland Clinic went down in defeat at the hands of the Grand Rapids Gold (6-4), 94-82 at the Wolstein Center on Friday night.

The game started well enough as both teams traded the lead throughout the time period. In the second quarter, Cleveland went ahead and managed to pad the lead by up to ten points. The second half was a different story with the wheels coming off the cart as the Charge attempted shot after shot from the three point arc only to see them bounce off the rim and into the other team’s hands along with a flurry of missed free throws. The meager 28 points in the second half was a new franchise low for points in a half with the final 82 points being a new season low for a game.

Leading the way for the Charge was Tre Scott scoring 18 points with seven rebounds and five steals (a career high) in 35 minutes of playing time. Scott tied his five steal effort against the Raptors 905 on January 20. Two-Way Player R. J. Nembhard earned a sixth double-double of the season with 16 points, 11 boards and six assists in 36 minutes on the court. Kevin Pangos (on assignment from the Cleveland Cavaliers) scored 5 points on 1-of-9 shooting with three steals in 27 minutes. Two-Way Player Brandon Goodwin had a stellar debut with the Charge with 15 points, six boards and seven assists in 35 minutes. Crowd favorite Tacko Fall added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds with three steals in 33 minutes.

The Gold’s Matt Ryan was high man on their side of the court with 21 points on 5-of-14 from three-point range adding three steals in 42 minutes. Petr Cornelle earned a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes. Nik Stauskas jumped off the bench for 18 points and nine rebounds for Grand Rapids.

Members of the Cleveland Charge celebrated their second “Cleveland Is The City” Hip Hop series with Kid Cudi inspired jerseys which are now available for auction by going to https://web.dashapp.io/auction/61eeeed1437ea307c690d2bf. Proceeds will benefit the organization RISE whose goal is to educate and empower the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations.

The two teams meet again tonight (Saturday, January 29th) at the Wolstein Center with tip off at 7 p.m. It’s Bertman Original Ballpark Mustard Appreciation Night with the first 1,000 fans receiving a Charge/Bertman Mustard baseball cap. The team will also be wearing a set of unique uniforms in honor of the evening which will also be auctioned off. Tickets start at just $5. For more information and tickets go to https://seatgeek.com/cleveland-charge-tickets