March 29, 2015

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – What began as a tight contest turned into a lopsided affair on Sunday afternoon, as the Champaign Swarm concluded their regular season by dropping a 111-90 contest to the St. Louis RiverSharks at the Family Arena.

With the loss, the Swarm are 15-5 and can finish no better than second place in the league. Although the Swarm have completed their season, four other teams have games remaining.

The first quarter finished in a 23-23 tie, but St. Louis exploded for a 21-3 run to finish the first half and led 46-34 at the break.  They continued to build in the third quarter and stretched it to a 34-point lead.

Marcus Goode was dominant for St. Louis.  The 6-foot-10 center scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 7 shots.

“I knew (the Swarm guards) would put pressure on our guards, so I wanted to put pressure on their bigs,” said Goode, who was 13-for-24 from the field and hit several outside shots.  “I’ve worked on my shooting. I don’t want to be one dimensional.”

Aaron Weaver led all Swarm scorers with 24 points off the bench, and Rob Broughton matched a season-high with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Swarm have clinched a playoff spot, but they still await their playoff fate, which will come the following week.  St. Louis faces the Gateway Steam at 7 p.m. on Wednesday April 1 at Center St. Louis in Affton, Mo.