Skyforce Clinch Central Division Title with 113-93 Win over Charge
March 18, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Sioux Falls Skyforce News Release
Sioux Falls, SD - The Sioux Falls Skyforce (35-8) led from start to finish in route to a 113-93 win over the Canton Charge (28-16) on Friday night at the Sanford Pentagon. In the win, the Skyforce clinched the Central Division Championship and cemented themselves as the number one overall seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2016 NBA Development League playoffs.
John Holland (20 points) scored the first three points of the game for the Charge, but the Skyforce retook a 4-3 lead at the 10:08 mark in the first quarter and never trailed again, leading by more than 10 points for the majority of the game. Nick Minnerath (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Quinn Cook (15 points) combined to score 33 points off the bench, but served as some of the only bright spots for a Canton offense that couldn't get much going in the loss.
DeAndre Liggins (26 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds) and Greg Whittington (12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three Skyforce Clinch Central Division Title with 113-93 Win Over Charge
Sioux Falls, SD - The Sioux Falls Skyforce (35-8) led from start to finish in route to a 113-93 win over the Canton Charge (28-16) on Friday night at the Sanford Pentagon. In the win, the Skyforce clinched the Central Division Championship and cemented themselves as the number one overall seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2016 NBA Development League playoffs.
John Holland (20 points) scored the first three points of the game for the Charge, but the Skyforce retook a 4-3 lead at the 10:08 mark in the first quarter and never trailed again, leading by more than 10 points for the majority of the game. Nick Minnerath (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Quinn Cook (15 points) combined to score 33 points off the bench, but served as some of the only bright spots for a Canton offense that couldn't get much going in the loss.
DeAndre Liggins (26 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds) and Greg Whittington (12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks) both recorded double-doubles in the win for Sioux Falls, highlighting an offense that saw seven different players score in double figures. Keith Benson came off the bench to score 16 points along with eight rebounds, and Jarnell Stokes (16 points, nine rebounds) and Rodney McGruder (16 points, eight rebounds) also came close to recording double-doubles in the win.
Turnovers seemed to put an end to any and all momentum the Charge might have had throughout the night, as they allowed 28 Sioux Falls points on 24 total turnovers. With a narrow 56-52 edge, the Skyforce have now moved to 31-3 when outscoring their opponents in the paint. The game also marked 38th time this season that Sioux Falls has held their opponents under 50 percent shooting, as the Charge shot just 38.9 percent from the field.
Canton remains in firm control of second place in the Central Division and continues to battle the Maine Red Claws (28-17) for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They will look to rebound on Saturday night in the second game of a back-to-back series with the Skyforce in Sioux Falls.
The Skyforce will look to win their eighth straight home game and build on their league-leading 35-8 record, the best in NBA D-League history through a team's first 43 games of the season.
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