The Santa Cruz Warriors mid-season skid continued against the Canton Charge as they dropped their fourth straight game and their final contest in the NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, 104-93.
After leading throughout the game and starting the fourth quarter with a 75-69 lead the Warriors once again faded away silently into the night and were outscored 35-18 in the final period.
For the second game in a row Taylor Griffin was the lead man for the Warriors dropping in a season-high 23 points and also grabbing six rebounds. He was one of five Warriors in double figures as Stefhon Hannah, Chris Johnson, Cameron Jones and Justin Johnson also ended up joining Griffin.
Dan Nwaelele also saw his first action of the season since sustaining a lower leg injury earlier, although he only saw a little more than 11 minutes of playing time in which he scored just three points.
Similar to the Warriors other loses the Charge out-rebounded them 46-32, and it would turn out to be the difference as the Warriors and the Charge played neck-and-neck all night long.
While the Warriors had a better shooting percentage at 45.7 the Charge were right behind them shooting 45.3 percent from the field. The ever critical points in the paint were almost identical with the Warriors having 34 and the Charge scoring 30.
The Warriors will have to regroup quickly as they head home to face the Tulsa 66ers in a two game series starting this Friday January 11. The Warriors still stand undefeated at Kaiser Permanente Arena after winning their first four games at home.
The last time the Warriors met with the 66ers was in the pre-season in a game where the Warriors escaped with a 95-79 win.
