Cleveland Charge gets star struck by Salt Lake City

It was not by lack of trying but in the end the Cleveland Charge (1-2) could simply not take over the lead in the fourth quarter as they chalked up a loss to the Salk Lake City Stars (1-3) on Tuesday night at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

At one point, the Stars pulled ahead by 26 points but in the late minutes of the fourth quarter Cleveland caught fire and got to within eight points. Cleveland was simply outplayed as they trailed by thirteen at the closing buzzer (126-113).

Three of the Charge players scored better than 20 points with Sharife Cooper leading the way with a game high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting combined with six boards in 38 minutes. Emoni Bates was not far behind with 27 points and seven rebounds in 37 minutes. Isaiah Mobley hit for 21 points with 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in 35 minutes. Malik Fitts added 15 points to the score along with nine rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.

The Salt Lake City Stars saw Johnny Juzang score 25 points with six rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes off the bench. Mentor, Ohio native Micah Potter was good for 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in 27 minutes. Taylor Hendricks earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.

The Cleveland Charge will wrap up their four-game home-stand as they battle the Santa Cruz Warriors this coming Saturday, January 6, 2024 with tip-off at 7:00 p.m. It’s Retro Cavs Night sponsored by Bertman’s Ballpark Mustard as the team will be outfitted in 1983 Cavs-style orange jerseys. The first 1,000 ticket holders will receive a retro jersey t-shirt. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://cleveland.gleague.nba.com/promotions.