WINDY CITY SETS FRANCHISE RECORD IN WINS, BEAT GREENSBORO 113-107
By Windy City Bulls Staff /March 10, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, March 9, 2019
WINDY CITY SETS FRANCHISE RECORD IN WINS, BEAT GREENSBORO 113-107
The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, collected their 12th road win of the season with a 113-107 victory over the Greensboro Swarm on Saturday night at The Fieldhouse.
Four Bulls players scored in double figures led by JaKarr Sampson who totaled a game-high 29 points to go with 12 rebounds and four assists. Walt Lemon Jr. collected his fourth straight double-double with 24 points and 11 assists, while Kaiser Gates had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Mychal Mulder added 12 points and six rebounds and CJ Fair pitched in with eight points.
Greensboro was led by Two-Way player J.P. Macura who recorded a team-high 24 points in his second game back from injury. Chinanu Onuaku notched 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Sam Thompson posted 13 points. Joe Chealey, the Swarm’s second Two-Way player, registered 10 points and seven assists and John Gillon provided nine points and seven assists in a reserve role.
Windy City’s offense was in disarray at the outset as they missed their first four shots from the floor, committed two turnovers and went scoreless in the opening three minutes. Conversely, the Swarm began the contest shooting 3-for-3, while jumping out to an early double-digit lead. After trailing by as many as 10, the Bulls managed to erase the deficit by scoring 15 of the next 19 points to take their first lead of the evening. After the slow start offensively, Windy City’s offense warmed to the task as they made 11 field goals over the final 8:49 and shot 50 percent in the period. Walt Lemon Jr. and JaKarr Sampson combined to score 17 of the Bulls’ 26 points and Windy City led by two at the end of the opening 12 minutes.
Petrasek tallied the first points of the second quarter as he nailed a three-pointer, which allowed Greensboro to retake the lead, 27-26. The Swarm’s one-point advantage was short-lived as the Bulls responded with a 12-5 run to take a six-point lead, which served as the largest of the first half for Windy City. Greensboro reclaimed the lead, but the Bulls punctuated the half as JaKarr Sampson and CJ Fair connected on back-to-back three-point shots. Sampson followed his eight-point first quarter by scoring 10 points and shooting 4-for-5 in the stanza. For the quarter, the Swarm shot 50 percent from the floor and from three, but Windy City led 56-51 at the intermission.
Greensboro opened the second half on an 11-6 run, which allowed them to tie the game at 62. The Swarm eventually took a 65-64 lead on a three-pointer by Thompson with 7:46 remaining in the quarter. In similar fashion to the second period, Greensboro’s advantage lasted a total of 15 seconds as the Bulls used a 10-2 spurt to take a seven-point lead. Windy City led by as many as eight points in the stanza as they outpaced the Swarm for the third consecutive quarter. Both teams shot exactly 50 percent from the floor in the frame, but the Bulls led 84-76 heading into the final 12 minutes.
Ferrakohn Hall gave Windy City their first double figure lead of the night as he scored on a finger roll layup to start the fourth quarter. Windy City grabbed their largest lead of the night at 12, but the Swarm posted a 9-1 run to cut the Bulls’ lead to four with 8:02 left to play in the game. Greensboro pulled to within two, but never tied or recaptured the lead as Windy City netted consecutive layups by Mulder and Lemon to re-up their advantage to six. The baskets gave the Bulls some much needed separation, but with under a minute remaining, Macura notched two three-pointers, slicing the Windy City lead to one. Despite the late comeback attempt, the Bulls held off the Swarm by scoring their final five points from the free throw line, leading to a 113-107 Windy City victory.
With the win, the Bulls record the 25th victory, which sets a franchise record for the most wins in a single season. Additionally, the 12 victories away from Sears Centre Arena is also a franchise-best.
The Bulls will return home for a short two-game home stand and will do so with a half-game lead in the Central Division. Windy City will host the Maine Red Claws on Wednesday, March 13. Tip-off at Sears Centre Arena is set for 7:00pm CT.
Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team on Twitter (@WindyCityBulls) or visiting WindyCityBulls.com. Full season membership, group, and single tickets for the 2018-19 Windy City Bulls season are on sale now. For all ticket information and full season schedule, visit WindyCityBulls.com.
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