After a tough OT loss Friday night to nationally-ranked USC-Salkehatchie, the Charger Men had a short turnaround until they took the floor again. On Saturday they squared off with Spartanburg Methodist to wrap up their opening weekend of the season.
The Chargers were able to pull out to a 10-point first half lead behind a balanced scoring attack. Trevin Wade, Nicolas Huteau, Desean Ware, and Langston Wilson all scored 6 points in the first half. Carl Johnson and Jamal Burke also chipped in 5 and 4 points respectively, as the Chargers led at the half 38-28.
The second half was evenly played by both teams as the Chargers were unable to pull away. This was primarily due Spartanburg Methodist PG Darius Bryant. He would hit 6 threes in the second half on his way to 10 total and a game-high 42 points. The Chargers again featured balanced second-half scoring. Langston Wilson led second-half scoring for GHC with 14 points. Trevin Wade had 12 and Carl Johnson added 10. For the game, GHC was led by Langston Wilson with 20 points. Trevin Wade and Carl Johnson again had strong games with 18 and 15 points each.
The result was a 91-82 win for the Chargers to bring their record to 1-1 for this young season. The win also marked the first of what Charger faithful hope will be many for Head Coach J.J. Merritt. After the game, Coach Merritt was excited for his team. "It was a good team effort today for our first win of the season. Langston Wilson stepped up big for us in the second half to help us pull away. We still need to work on finishing games out and not letting up, but all-in-all a good team win."
The Chargers make their home debut this Friday and Saturday. They host Motlow State Community College on Friday, November 8 at 7:30PM, and then return to the court Saturday, November 9 against American Basketball Institute. Let's pack The Corral for this opening weekend!