On Saturday night, the Canton Charge (2-5) squared off against the Oklahoma City Blue (6-2) for the second game of a home back-to-back set inside Canton Memorial Civic Center (106-100 win over the Iowa Energy on Friday).
Canton trailed Oklahoma City by eight points through the opening four minutes of Saturday’s game. However, Canton fought back and took their first lead as time in the quarter waned. Quinn Cook and Chris Evans both turned in five points through the first quarter. Heading into the second, the Charge held a two point lead (25-23).
A back-and-forth battle began to unfold – with neither side gaining a true advantage. Eight Canton players managed to score before the break, led by Evans’ nine points and four rebounds. At the halftime horn, the two sides were knotted at 53 points a piece.
The Charge came out of the locker room a bit cold from the perimeter. With 8:52 remaining in the third quarter, Canton trailed Oklahoma City by seven points. The Charge managed to regain their composure after Cook knocked down a clutch three-point shot, reducing their deficit to just two with 5:52 remaining in the third. It seemed this one was going down to the wire. Heading into the final quarter of play, the score remained tied (74-74).
The fourth quarter started with an Evans three-pointer, giving the Charge a three point lead. Cook quickly followed Evans’ triple with one of his own, stretching Canton’s advantage to five with 9:52 showing on the game clock. Oklahoma City was going away, though. A series of Charge misses and Oklahoma City makes led to an eight point get-away for the Blue with just over six minutes remaining. Despite tying the game once more (89-89 with 5:11 remaining), the Charge weren’t able to withstand Oklahoma City’s late rally. When the dust settled inside the arena, the Charge had fallen to the Blue (107-104).
Evans led the Charge in scoring on Friday night, en route to 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal in his 44 minutes of playing time. Cook trailed just behind Evans with 20 points, a team-high six assists, four rebounds, and four steals in 41 minutes.
Tonight game featured 16 lead changes and 12 ties; a true slug-fest.
The Charge will look to get back into the win column on Friday night at 7:00 pm EST (December 2nd), as they host the Raptors 905 (Toronto affiliate) for the first game of another back-to-back set.
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