Team Effort Propels Charge Past the Mad Ants

Coach Jensen and his staff with players at a previous practice.

     In a true team effort, the Charge came from 14 down in the 3rd quarter to secure a 112-104 win, their second in a row. All ten healthy players seen the floor and all scored between 6 and 18 points; Blake, Biggs, McLeod, Agudio, Milligan, and Campbell all collecting double figures. Biggs paced the team with 18 while Agudio took full advantage of his first start with 16 points. Agudio, who was signed last week, didn't put a ball in the air that didn't find the net; going 6-6 from the field and 3-3 from the line. Keith McLeod continues to demonstrate his leadership and had a well rounded game with 12 points, 10 assists and 6 boards. In just his second game in Canton Dante Milligan contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds. While the team still lacks a true center, Milligan provides some more height and toughness in the middle.
     One big key to victory was improvement controlling the paint. The rebounding war was tied, points in the paint was 54-46 Charge, second chance points were 13-9 in favor of the Charge. Another key to victory was the superior depth. Ft. Wayne in essence only had a seven man rotation, five playing over 30 minutes and four playing 36 minutes or more. The Charge had a ten man rotation with no one playing over 30 minutes. The Charge had 28 point off the bench in the second half, that type of consistency and depth will give teams fits all season long.
     I must say I'm encouraged by the progress of the Charge. Wes Wilcox and his staff have already shown a commitment to improving the team. With the addition of Agudio, Gibson and Milligan, they have added 25-35 points a game to the lineup. I know Wilcox wants to and will be adding more height to the team. With the possible addition of a few players from the Cavs this could be an interesting ride for us here in Canton!

The Charge head to Erie for their first road game of the season Friday and will be back in action Saturday against Maine here in Canton finishing 3 games in 4 days.