Elijah Hughes scored a game-high 26 points to help the Wisconsin Herd past the Cleveland Charge 98-79 at the Wolstein Center Feb. 9.
Hughes shot 10-for-13 from the floor and 6-for-7 from behind the arc to lead Wisconsin to its fifth straight win. The Herd (11-8) sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference of the NBA G League and are a game behind the first-place Delaware Blue Coats.
Aside from Hughes, four other Herd players finished in double figures. Guard Stephen Thompson scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds while forward Marquese Chriss finished the game with 14 points. Forward Chris Livingston and center Marques Bolden both had double-doubles in the game, with Livingston scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while Bolden scored 10 points and grabbed 12 boards.
The Herd shot 43.7% from the field and 40% from 3-point range in the road win. Wisconsin turned the ball over 15 times but outrebounded the Charge 51-42 and finished with more assists (21-17).
Cleveland (8-9) shot just 38% from the floor and 31.7% from behind the arc. The Charge finished with 14 turnovers but had seven steals and three blocked shots.
Forward Isaiah Mobley led the Charge with 14 points and six rebounds. Forwards Zhaire Smith and Aleem Ford both scored 12 points in the contest while guards Emoni Bates and Devontae Shuler both finished with 11 points.
Thompson opened the scoring in the first quarter with a jumper and a 3-point free throw to give the Herd a 5-0 lead. A 3-pointer from Pete Nance sparked a 9-0 Charge run that gave Cleveland a one-point lead. With under a minute to go in the period, Shuler knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Charge a four-point advantage, but Thompson connected on a floater on the next possession and the Herd pulled to 31-29 at the end of the quarter.
The Herd hit back-to-back baskets to start the second quarter and Wisconsin took a 33-31 lead. The Charge embarked on an 8-0 run midway through the period to take a six-point advantage, but the Herd responded with a 13-2 run after a 3-pointer from Hughes to take the lead. Cleveland pulled to within two points following a layup from Bates, but Wisconsin ended the half with baskets from Bolden and Hughes to claim a 54-47 lead at halftime.
Both teams traded 3-pointers to begin the third quarter and Bates cut the Wisconsin lead down to two with a driving dunk. A reverse layup from Chriss jump started an 11-0 run that gave the Herd a 70-57 lead with two minutes to go in the period. Ford knocked down a free throw to bring the Charge to within 10 points, but Hughes connected on a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Wisconsin a 75-62 lead at the break.
Hughes tossed up an alley-oop dunk to Chris for the first points of the fourth quarter, and James Akinjo hit a 3-pointer to give the Herd a 17-point advantage. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Hughes and Thompson put Wisconsin on top 94-69 with five minutes to play. Cleveland went on a 7-0 run late in the quarter to cut the deficit to 20 points, but the Herd cruised to a 19-point victory.
The Herd waived forward Alex Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, on Feb. 8. Antetokounmpo played in 18 games for Wisconsin this season and averaged 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game with the Herd.
Wisconsin used the roster opening to acquire Anthony Tarke from the player pool. Tarke played for the Herd last season, averaging 5.6 points and three rebounds per game in five games with Wisconsin.
