addByline("Jackson Filyo", "WashingtonWizards.com");
Coming off a 1-1 weekend, the Go-Go sit at 10-10 on the season and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. On Friday, Capital City had four players score 20-plus points and held a 19-point lead against Fort Wayne, but lost by two after a 42-point fourth quarter from the Mad Ants. On Sunday, the Go-Go again held a 19-point lead, but managed to withstand a late run from the Oklahoma City Blue for the win. Jerian Grant scored 20-plus points in both games this weekend, including a team-high 21 in the team’s win over the Blue.
SEASON LEADERS
As of January 6, by per game average
TWO-WAY WIZARDS // ASSIGNMENT PLAYERS
Garrison Mathews // Guard // Two-Way
Last week: 0 GP / 0.0 PPG / 0.0 RPG / 0.0 APG
Mathews spent last week with the Wizards, appearing in all four of the team’s games, and did not play with the Go-Go. Mathews averaged 15.8 points on 53.7% from the field and 50.0% from 3-point range in 22.9 minutes per game. His best performance came on December 30 in a win against the Heat when he scored 28 points and recorded a plus-22 rating in 29 minutes of action.
Anzejs Pasecniks // Center // Two-Way
Last week: 0 GP / 0.0 PPG / 0.0 RPG / 0.0 APG
Pasecniks, like Mathews, spent the entire week with the Wizards, playing in all four of the team’s games. Pasecniks averaged 5.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game, highlighted by a 13-point, eight-rebound showing in a win over the Nuggets on Saturday night.
Admiral Schofield // Guard-Forward // On Assignment
Last week: 1 GP / 19.0 PPG / 10.0 RPG / 3.0 APG
Schofield suited up for one of Capital City’s two games this weekend, scoring 19 points on 7-12 (.583) against the Oklahoma City Blue on Sunday afternoon. Schofield also grabbed 10 rebounds, giving him his second double-double of the season. Schofield appeared in three games for the Wizards, totaling just over 17 minutes on the court.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Capital City Go-Go vs. Fort Wayne Mad Ants // January 3 // Entertainment and Sports Arena
The Go-Go (9-10) were defeated by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (9-11), 128-126, on Friday night in the nation’s capital. The Go-Go raced out to a quick lead in the contest, peaking at a 37-18 advantage with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter. Capital City maintained its lead through each of the first three quarters, as the Go-Go’s starting five did the majority of the damage with 113 of the team’s 126 points. The Go-Go led by double-digits for over half of the game (24:29 total) and carried a 97-86 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fort Wayne responded with a quick 8-0 run to begin the final frame, pulling the game within three less than two minutes into the period. The Go-Go quickly answered with an 8-2 run of their own, giving them a 105-97 lead with 7:22 to play. Fort Wayne took control of the game from that point, embarking on a 23-7 run over the next six minutes to take its largest lead of the night of eight with a little over a minute to go. Despite trailing 123-115 with 33.7 seconds left, the Go-Go were able to force a turnover and benefitted from a couple missed free throws to trail by just two with a Jerian Grant free throw attempt looming. After an intentional miss, Fort Wayne was able to secure the defensive rebound and run out the remainder of the clock.
“Good learning experience,” Go-Go head coach Ryan Richman said postgame. “Obviously, not the outcome you want. Typical game when you have a big lead – and playing with a big lead is obviously something we don't do a ton of. [It’s] something we need to learn from and move on for our next game on Sunday.”
Four Go-Go starters scored 20-plus points in the game, led by Mike Cobbins’ game-high 29 points and nine rebounds – nearly matching his 30-point performance in the Go-Go’s last outing. Jalen Jones had 25 points, his third 25-plus point game of the season, to go along with seven rebounds. In his first start of the season, Phil Booth tallied a season-high 22 points, going 5-7 from the behind the arc. Jerian Grant added 21 points on 9-14 shooting from the field. Wizards’ assignee Justin Robinson neared a triple-double with 16 points, seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists. Capital City shot .553 (52-94) from the field, its highest field goal percentage of the season, leading to a season-high 126 points.
Capital City Go-Go vs. Oklahoma City Blue // January 5 // Entertainment and Sports Arena
The Go-Go (10-10) defeated the Oklahoma City Blue (7-14), 118-111, Sunday afternoon at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. After a mostly back-and-forth first quarter, Capital City was able to close the opening frame on a 10-0 run to give them a 34-26 heading into the second. Despite a couple runs from the Blue, cutting the lead to two on multiple occasions, the Go-Go were able to hold the lead for the final 37 minutes of the game (only trailing for 3:07 in the first quarter). Jerian Grant’s 10 points in the fourth quarter provided enough for the Go-Go to cruise to victory.
Capital City saw one of its most balanced scoring efforts of the season, as six different players scored in double figures, five scoring 15-plus. The Go-Go shot a season-high 55.6% from behind the arc, tying a season high with 15 made threes (27 attempts) – as five different players made multiple threes. Capital City also shot 52.3% from the field, its third-straight game shooting above 50.0%.
“Obviously, we were in the same position we were last game, up 11 at half,” Go-Go head coach Ryan Richman said. “It felt like a very similar game. They came back, they never took the lead, but they cut it to two. It is good to see the growth of our team, myself included, and the coaching staff, because we are all in it together. It’s not perfect all the time but we are in it together and we grew and, fortunately, came out with the win.”
The Go-Go were led by Jerian Grant’s 21 points. Wizards’ assignee Admiral Schofield notched his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, finishing plus-15 on the night. Jalen Jones and Phil Booth each chipped in 16 points to round out the bulk of the starters scoring, while Jalen Hudson (18 points) and Noah Allen (10 points and eight rebounds) provided off the Go-Go bench.
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Go-Go are off until Thursday night when they take on the Maine Red Claws (13-6) at 7:00 P.M. at the Portland Expo Building, Capital City’s first true road game since December 13. The Go-Go are back in D.C. on Saturday, taking on the Sioux Falls Skyforce (10-13) at 7:00 P.M. at Entertainment and Sports Arena.