Greensboro Swarm overpower Canton Charge, 123-88, in season opener

The Greensboro Swarm started the 2017-18 campaign on the right foot, as they overpowered the Canton Charge 123-88 in their home opener.

Jalen Jones came off the bench to provide 23 points and four rebounds, two-way player Mangok Mathiang had 18 points and 11 boards in his G-League debut, and the Greensboro Swarm defeated the Canton Charge 123-88 in a game in which they led wire to wire.

Charles Cooke also gave Greensboro 15 points off the bench, and Marcus Paige had 14 points and 10 dimes for a double-double to help the Swarm’s efforts.

The Charge had five players score in double figures, led by NBA journeyman Kendrick Perkins‘ 15 points and 12 boards. JaCorey Williams and John Holland added 11 points apiece, and London Perrantes and Marcus Thornton both added 10. Canton was outscored in every quarter and was held to only 16 points in the third period.

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Greensboro, which led by as many as 37 points, outscored Canton in the paint 76-40 and held a 47-43 advantage on the glass. The Swarm also won the battle in second-chance points (19-8) and fastbreak points (12-2) and also hit 26 of their 33 free throw attempts.

The biggest story of the game was turnovers, as Greensboro only committed 15 turnovers to Canton’s 25. Greensboro scored 26 points off those errors, while the Charge scored 14 off of the Swarm’ miscues.

Cooke, Jones, Mathiang and Paige all showed that they will be valuable contributions to the franchise, as all four of them are two-way players. Their contributions in the box score show that the time they’ve had with their parent-franchises has paid off (Jones and Cooke are two-way players for the New Orleans Pelicans).

Meanwhile, draft pick Cole Huff, who was the only Greensboro pick from the G-League Draft to make the roster, had seven points and six boards in his debut. He was fouled on a three-pointer late in the game and made all of his free throws. Guard Terry Henderson, the only returning player from last year’s squad, posted nine points, five boards and three dimes for an all-around effort.

Next: Greensboro Swarm add three players through G-League Draft

Carolina Connections

There were many faces from North Carolina all over the court in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex on Saturday night. Marcus Paige (UNC), Terry Henderson (NC State) and Canton’s Tyrrel Tate (Fayetteville State) all played college basketball here in North Carolina. Tate scored six points for the Charge.