Swarm pass first road test, down Groove
Champaign wins defensive battle despite 27 by Fuqua
January 30, 2015
CHICAGO -- The Champaign Swarm have passed their first road test.
The Swarm outlasted the Windy City Groove, 92-84, on Friday night at the Kroc Center in Chicago, winning their first road contest of the season. Champaign improved to 4-1 and beat Windy City for the second time in as many chances. Windy City dropped to 1-4.
Champaign's biggest lead was 14 points early in the fourth quarter, but Windy CIty pulled to 79-78 on a Darrin Jackson runner with 4:22 left in the game. The Swarm closed it out by sinking nine free throws from there, including Matt Neaville's 6-for-6 performance in the final minutes.
Champaign dominated the glass, outrebounding Windy CIty 52-26.
Arnold Louis tallied a double-double with a team-high 20 points and 3 rebounds while hitting 6 of 8 free throws. Rashard McGill poured in 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Windy City made five three-pointers in the first quarter and jumped to a 16-6 lead, expanding it to 22-9. But the Swarm responded with a 12-0 run to close the first quarter, punctuated by a Jordan Walker slam dunk, to pull within 22-21.
The Swarm took a 25-23 lead on an Aaron Weaver slam dunk early in the second quarter and never trailed after that.
Windy City guard Nate Fuqua lead all scorers with 27 points.
The Swarm return to Chicago to face the Chicago Force for the first time at 7 p.m., on Thursday, February 5. Windy City plays Champaign for the third straight time on Sunday, February 8.