The Canton Charge were defeated by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, 105-95, at the War Memorial Coliseum in Indiana on Saturday night. The loss sets Canton at 17-10 on the season, while Fort Wayne improves to 16-11 and a full game behind the Charge in the East Division.
After the Charge pulled ahead for a 24-22 lead following the opening stanza, the two teams went back-and-forth for three ties and two lead changes in the early stages of the second. Trey McKinney Jones netted 13 points in the second quarter to help Fort Wayne lead by as many as seven. With the Mad Ants up 46-39 with 2:16 to play in the half, Canton finished on a 7-2 run to trail 48-46 at intermission.
The two teams went blow-for-blow throughout the third quarter, going back and fourth for nine lead changes and eight ties in the period alone. Canton hit 12-of-21 shots from the field in the third (57%), and pulled within one at 78-77 heading into the fourth when Ben Uzoh pulled up to hit a triple from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.
Fort Wayne furthered their advantage by beginning the fourth on a 7-0 run in the first 1:46 to go up 85-77. The Mad Ants led the rest of the way and by as many as 15 in outscoring the Charge 27-18 and limiting the visitors to five field goals in the final 12 minutes all together. The win gives Fort Wayne the 3-2 lead in the season series, with the final meeting between the two teams to come in Canton next Sunday.
Gilbert Brown led Canton with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with six assists and two blocks in 38 minutes. Jorge Gutierrez netted 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting with five boards, six assists and a steal in 32 minutes. Kevin Jones netted 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and snatched two steals in 27 minutes. Arinze Onuaku came off the bench to add nine points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes. Robert Hite scored 14 points with four rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.
The Mad Ants were paced by Ron Howard's game-high 25 points with seven rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes. McKinney-Jones finished with 17 points and two steals in 33 minutes of relief. Detroit Pistons assignment Peyton Silva poured in 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 21 minutes, while fellow Piston Tony Mitchell added six points, nine boards and two blocks in 22 minutes. Fort Wayne forced 22 Charge turnovers for 25 points on the night, while surrendering the ball just 11 times for 10 points.
Canton is back home at the Civic Center hosting the Austin Toros on Tuesday, February 4, at 7:00 p.m., with tickets starting at just $7! To purchase single game tickets or for all general ticket information, fans can call 1-866-444-1944 or visit CantonCharge.com.
Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team at: @CantonCharge on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CantonCharge and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CantonCharge.
(Press release from the Canton Charge)
