The Canton Charge topped the Austin Toros, 106-87, at the Canton Memorial Civic Center on Friday night. The victory improved the Charge to 13-15 on the season while their fourth-straight loss dropped the Toros to 18-8. The season series now stands even between the two teams at one win apiece.
Canton came out strong in the first quarter with 11-of-21 shooting for 52% compared to Austin’s 6-of-18 for 33%. Manny Harris provided six points, seven rebounds and a monster dunk on a break that got all 2,507 at the Civic Center on their feet. The Toros got themselves back in the game with a 9-2 run midway through the second, but the Charge still held a 44-41 advantage at the intermission.
Austin was able to take their first lead of the game early in the third quarter, but it wouldn’t last. After battling back and forth for much of the period, the Charge went on an 8-0 run in the final 1:46 for a 76-67 lead entering the fourth. Canton cruised the rest of the way by outscoring Austin 30-20 and improved to 8-6 at home this season.
Harris, the reigning D-League Performer of the Week, finished with 21 points and a season-high 14 rebounds in 36 minutes for his second double-double of the season. Harris also added four assists as it was his ninth-straight game in which he scored in double figures.
All five Austin starters scored in double figures, with Da’Sean Butler and Lance Thomas leading the way with 16 points in 34 and 33 minutes respectively. Justin Dentmon was limited to 15 points, five rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes of play. He came into tonight second in the league in scoring, averaging 23.6 points and seventh in assists by dishing out 5.3 a night.
T.J. Campbell had a game-high 22 points with five rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes. Dante Milligan had 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes from the center position. Tyrell Biggs tallied 16 points with six boards and two steals in 31 minutes. Antonio Graves and Antoine Agudio had 12 and 11 points in 23 and 27 minutes respectively, including some clutch shots down the stretch to help the Charge secure the victory.
The Toros’ 87 points tied an opponent season-low for the Charge, and it was the first time this season Austin was held under 90 in a game. They also were just 1-of-10 from beyond the three-point line for an opponent-low 10% while the Charge hit 9-of-18 for 50%.
Canton and Austin will meet again for a rematch tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Center in the penultimate contest of the season series between the two teams.
CANTON CHARGE QUOTES
Head Coach Alex Jensen
(Opening Statement): “It was a really good win. The Toros had come off of three losses in a row. They played two nights ago, which was an advantage to us because we had another day off than they did. Brad (Jones) and the Spurs organization do a great job. They made a push and had two great runs at us in the second quarter when they erased our lead quickly. In the third quarter, they came at us again. I think that our guys did a good job of keeping the ball steady and not letting the ball get too high or too low. Whether you make the shot or miss it, you still have to do the same things on defense. I told them before the game that if they won the rebound battle, we would win. We out-rebounded them 40 to 32 and Manny Harris had 14 himself. I give him credit, he stepped up. It was a great team effort with 30 bench points and 20 assists. This is how good we can be. Tomorrow is going to be a tougher one. Back-to-backs are hard in the D-League. The crowd was great tonight, and it was always nice when we made those threes and the crowd got into it.”
(On starting and ending strong): “I think at the end, it is always nice when you shoot fifty percent from the three-point line. Defensively at the beginning, we had good defense, we got the rebounds that turned into easy layups or jump shots. Defensively, we were consistent. When they score, it hurts our offense because we are better at transitioning. Brad made some great adjustments on plays and caught us. I give credit to our guys, they responded and were able to pick it up defensively and make some threes. Hopefully we don’t have to rely on that too much.”
(On T.J. Campbell): “T.J. did great job tonight. Steady is a great word to describe him. Whether (it was) the first three minutes of the game or the last three minutes, it’s pretty even. He did a great job. It was a great team effort.”
T.J. Campbell
(On starting and ending strong): “We tried to focus on defense and get stops. At the beginning of the game, we got a big lead just from getting stops on the defensive end. The main thing is that we stuck together and kept pushing and finally, they fell off and we came through in the end. We really played as a team. There were some huge shots that really helped us get the win tonight.”
(On going against one of the best point guards in the league in Justin Dentmon): “Last game we played against them, he kind of came at me. I took it as a challenge and was looking forward to it, and I think I did a good job.”
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