Charge Squash Mad Ants

ORLANDO, FL – The Canton Charge (5-9), powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers, held off the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (5-9) for a 99-94 victory on Thursday  afternoon at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

With just under four minutes remaining, back-to-back steals from Ty-Shon Alexander followed by a Sir’Dominic Pointer three tied the contest at 85-85. There would be three more ties in the final two minutes with both teams battling back-and-forth for control. Down by one, Sheldon Mac took the reins, weaving through defenders and finishing with the reverse layup for the go-ahead bucket at the 53 second mark. Free throws extended the lead for the Charge, but it was back-to-back blocks from Marques Bolden and Brodric Thomas that sealed the victory.

Cavaliers Two-Way Player Brodric Thomas tied his season-best 28 points, going 11-for-19 from the field, to go along with three steals and three assists in 33 minutes of action. Levi Randolph was Canton’s other 20+ point scorer with 21, shooting 50% from behind the arc and scoring 10 in the fourth quarter. Bolden ended the day with 10 rebounds, eight points, and three blocks in 29 minutes and Aaron Epps was solid off the bench with five points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 16 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPaRNYqJvgg

Fort Wayne took an early lead in the game, but 11 points from Thomas gave Canton the four-point edge at the end of the first. The Charge kept the momentum in the second with Antonio Blakeney coming off the bench for six points to help take an eight-point lead into the break. The Mad Ants came out quick in the third, scoring six unanswered points, but the Charge recovered and both teams battled for the lead. Epps knocked down a three with 26 seconds remaining to hold a slight advantage going into the final quarter.

Josh Gray led Fort Wayne’s offense with 23 points and a game-high seven assists in 35 minutes of action. Oshae Brissett notched a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 50% from the floor. Amida Brimah was a presence in the paint with 13 rebounds and five blocked shots to go along with eight points in 29 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34FVS_r7dWE

The Charge close out the regular season on Saturday morning, taking on the Long Island Nets at 11:30 a.m.  – Watch live on FOX Sports Ohio or listen along on 99.7 FM, Canton’s New Country!  Fans can stay up-to-date on the latest team news by following: @CantonCharge on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CantonCharge and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CantonCharge.  Fans can download the new Canton Charge App on their smartphone via the iTunes Store or Google Play Store.

Become a member of Charge Nation and be there when the action returns to the Canton Memorial Civic Center! For more info, visit www.CantonCharge.com or call 866-444-1944.  The Canton Charge are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers organization and are also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Chairman and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League, who play their games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland.