G League Sioux Falls Skyforce

Palo's Career High Propels Skyforce Past Charge

March 19, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Sioux Falls Skyforce News Release


Sioux Falls, SD - The Sioux Falls Skyforce (36-8) held off the Canton Charge (28-17) to earn a 116-109 victory on Saturday night at the Sanford Pentagon, their eighth straight home win.

The Skyforce are now just three games shy of breaking the NBA Development League record for the most regular season wins in a single season, currently held by the 2011-12 Los Angeles D-Fenders who finished with a record of 38-12.

Sioux Falls started Saturday's game on a 20-6 run, making their first eight shots of the contest and forcing an early Canton timeout with 7:46 left to go in the first quarter. However, the Charge made adjustments and managed to cut the lead to just three points heading into halftime behind 25 first half points from Nick Minnerath (35 points, four rebounds).

Just one minute into the third quarter, Canton took their first lead of the contest at 62-61. The Charge later led by as many as eight points before Sioux Falls began to close the gap. Down 91-95 with 8:44 left in the fourth quarter, the Skyforce finished the game by outscoring Canton 25-14 down the stretch.

Bubu Palo scored an NBA D-League career-high 34 points, making 12 of his 16 shot attempts. DeAndre Liggins (13 assists, four rebounds) recorded double digit assists for the second consecutive game, though he was held to just three points in the contest.

Rodney McGruder added 23 points for the Skyforce and Jarnell Stokes (19 points, 10 rebounds) recorded the team's lone double-double on the night. Finally, Jabril Trawick provided a spark coming off of the bench for Sioux Falls, scoring 15 points to go along with his five assists and three steals.

Minnerath's big night was accompanied by a 17-point, 10-assist double-double by Quinn Cook. Juvonte Reddic tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, and Chris Crawford came off the bench to record 14 points to round out the majority of Canton's scoring in the loss.

The Skyforce are now 32-3 when outscoring their opponents in the paint, finishing Saturday's matchup with a 20-point advantage in that category. Sioux Falls shot 61.6 percent in the game and recorded 30 assists as a team, marking their highest assist total of the season.

The Skyforce will now begin a three-game road trip as they travel to Indiana to take on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (18-26) on Tuesday, March 22 followed by a two game series in Newark, Delaware against the 87ers (19-25) on Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26.

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