The Canton Charge topped the visiting Erie BayHawks 104-82 in front of 3,197 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center on Saturday night. The Charge victory marked the third this season against Erie in as many meeting.
After a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes, Canton pulled ahead 10-9 at the 8:27 mark in the first quarter on an Alex Kirk jumper and never relinquished the lead thereafter. After Canton turned the ball over six times in the first quarter, the Charge only relinquished the ball twice in the final 36 minutes. The hosts scored 58 points in the paint and finished an efficient 42-of-79 shooting (53%) as a team.
The Charge sent multiple looks at Erie's D-League leading-scorer, Seth Curry, who finished with 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting (21%). Erie's starting backcourt of Curry and Peyton Siva were held to 24 points on a combined 6-of-26 (23%) shooting. The Wine & Gold held Erie to 35% shooting from the field for the game. Canton's staunch defense was complimented with a balanced offensive attack in which six players scored in double figures.
The hosts were paced by Arinze Onuaku's 19 points and 15 rebounds in 30 minutes for his 17th double-double of the season. Onuaku was joined by Cavaliers' assignment Joe Harris, who posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of action in his second game with the Charge. Reserve guards Chris Crawford (6-of-11 shooting) and Justin Johnson (7-of-10 shooting) poured in 14 points apiece for the Charge off the bench, while Alex Kirk netted 15 points with seven boards in 35 minutes.
Erie's Drew Crawford topped the scorers on the visiting side with 21 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of run. Erie center Kadeem Batts added a double-double as well with 12 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes. Leslie McDonald came off the bench to provide 11 points for the BayHawks.
**Canton Charge press release
