Red Claws Drop a Tough One to East's Best Canton
March 8, 2013 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Red Claws (21-19) were unable to gain ground on division-leading Canton Charge (23-15), falling at the Portland Expo Building on Friday night, 91-87.
Canton charged out of the gate in the first quarter with Antoine Agudio picking up six quick points early as they ran out to an early seven point lead. Maine struggled to get the offense going in the quarter until newcomers Curtis Jerrells and Josh Selby sparked a small run with a three from Jerrells and five points from Selby, including a three pointer at the buzzer to close out the first. The Red Claws bounced back in the second on the hot play of Omar Reed off the bench, contributing 11 points as part of a 15-4 run to tie the game at 40 late in the first half. Arinze Onuaku's strong play in the paint kept Canton in it, however and Michael Eric traded baskets with Selby in the final 30 seconds to send the squads into the locker room tied at 46 apiece.
Maine took an early lead in the second half on a Micah Downs hook shot before Charge guard Jorge Gutierrez scored five quick points and Eric added four more around a Selby three to push Canton's lead up to five. Downs and DaJuan Summers sparked a 7-2 run to tie the game at 63 before Canton's Kyle Weaver and Kyle Gibson poured in five points to close out the quarter leading 68-63. The Red Claws got a quick burst from Chris Wright to start the fourth quarter, but the Charge scored eight straight points in the paint to push their lead back to seven. Summers, Selby and Reed each scored five over the next four minutes to cut the lead to three, trailing 85-82 heading into the final two minutes. A Downs three pointer cut the lead to 87-85 with just under a minute to play, but Canton converted on six of eight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Leading the Charge was Dominique Johnson's 15 point effort. Also keying the win were double-doubles from Onuaku (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Eric (12 points, 10 rebounds). Rounding out the Canton players in double figures were Gutierrez (12), Agudio (11), Weaver (10 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Gibson (10 points, seven rebounds).
The Red Claws were led by Summers' 16 points and six rebounds. The Red Claws also got a double-double from Reed (14 points, 10 rebounds). Other solid Maine efforts came from Selby (14), Downs (14 points, five assists) and Wright (11 points, six rebounds). Celtics-assigned player Fab Melo had seven blocked shots, six rebounds and four assists in the loss.
The Red Claws will be back in action on Sunday as they host the Charge at the Portland Expo for a 1 PM game.
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