The Canton Charge dropped their first of two games at the 2014 NBA Development League Showcase in a 93-88 loss to the Idaho Stampede on Monday afternoon. The Charge now sit at 10-6 on the season, while the Stampede improved their record to 11-6.
After four lead changes and three ties early, Idaho pulled in front for a 23-19 first quarter lead thanks in part to an efficient offensive attack of hitting 10-of-20 shots from the field as a team (50%). Pierre Jackson and Jorge Gutierrez each had nine points in the opening quarter for the Stampede and Charge respectively.
Despite shooting under 40% as a team for the half, Canton hung around in the second by creating extra opportunities with five offensive rebounds and six second chance points. The Charge worked the ball inside to score 28 points in the paint in the first half, but trailed 46-40 at the intermission.
Canton assisted on all nine of their field goals in the third quarter and were able to knot the score up when trailing 56-49 late in the third, they rattled off a quick 15-8 run to even the game at 64-64. Beginning with the 3:14 mark of the third quarter, the Charge held Idaho scoreless for the next 6:06 of game time, including seven misses and four turnovers, to pull ahead 70-64.
With the Stampede trailing 75-68 and 7:37 left in the game, Idaho ripped off a 14-3 run over the next 4:01 to pull ahead 82-78. Canton subsequently responded by scoring on their next two possessions with a defensive stop in between to tie it at 82-82 with 1:55 left. Idaho was able to pull out the victory down the stretch by working the bonus and hitting all eight foul shots in an 11-6 run to end the game.
Kevin Jones led Canton with his fifth double-double of the season in 19 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. Gutierrez finished with 14 points, five rebounds and eight assists in 34 minutes. Shane Edwards added a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds in 39 minutes. Olek Czyz came off the bench to add eight points and six rebounds in 16 minutes for the Charge.
Jackson finished with a game-high 33 points on 10-of-23 shooting and eight assists in 43 minutes. Richard Howell posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes for Idaho. Kellen Thornton came off the bench to add 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with five rebounds in 20 minutes. Dallas Lauderdale added eight points, nine rebounds, seven blocks and two steals in 39 minutes.
The Charge will finish their involvement in the 2014 NBA Development League Showcase when they face the Texas Legends on Tuesday, January 7th at 1:00 p.m. Fans can follow all of the action live on NBA TV and with a link to live game stats on CantonCharge.com.
