January 4, 2018 (GREENSBORO, N.C.) – The Greensboro Swarm (11-11), the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, dropped its first contest of 2019 to the Lakeland Magic (11-9), 117-107, Friday at the Fieldhouse at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Troy Caupain scored a game-high 31 points for Lakeland while Jaylen Barford’s 22 points led Greensboro.
Five other players reached double-figures for Greensboro. On assignment from the Hornets, Dwayne Bacon scored 19 points. Chinanu Onuaku put up 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Luke Petrasek scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Joe Chealey (13 points) and Cat Barber (10 points) provided quality minutes for the Swarm.
Gabe York added 27 points of his own for Lakeland. Caupain and York shot a combined 19-for-34 from the field with seven threes. BJ Johnson (16 points), Melvin Frazier (11 points) and Braian Angola-Rodas (15 points) rounded out the top performers for the Magic.
Neither team could find much separation early on. Chealey paced all players with nine points to begin the contest. Troy Caupain led the Magic with seven points and as the Swarm remained ahead, 25-23, after one.
Barford turned it up in the second period for the Swarm, scoring seven straight points in the frame. However, the game was tied at half (51-51).
The Magic came out fast with a, 10-3, run early in the third quarter. Not to be outdone, Petrasek connected on a three of his own to cut the eight-point deficit back to five for the Swarm. Greensboro would keep pace with the Magic, narrowly trailing (84-81) entering the final 12 minutes.
Greensboro opened the fourth with a 5-0 run, sparking a quick timeout by Lakeland. The Magic got hot from long range, hitting a trio of threes pull away.
