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After a pair of home wins and an overtime loss in Canton last week, the Go-Go (14-15) now sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, 2.5 games behind the sixth-place Lakeland Magic (17-13). Jalen Jones played in all three games and led the team with 19.7 points per game, including a team-high 22 against Canton. London Perrantes, who signed with the team earlier in the week, averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 assists in his two games played.
SEASON LEADERS
As of January 27, 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 has not played for the Wizards or Go-Go since suffering an ankle sprain on January 6 against the Boston Celtics.
Johnathan Williams // Center // Two-Way
Last week: 1 GP / 18.0 PPG / 13.0 RPG / 2.0 APG
Williams made just one appearance with the Go-Go last week – Sunday’s overtime matchup with the Canton Charge. Williams was dominant, totaling 18 points on 9-11 (.818) shooting to go along with 13 rebounds in 32 minutes of action.
Admiral Schofield // Guard-Forward // On Assignment
Last week: 3 GP / 13.3 PPG / 6.3 RPG / 2.3 APG
Schofield spent the entire week with the Go-Go and appeared in all three of the team’s games. The rookie played well, averaging 13.3 points per game on 45.5% shooting, highlighted by a 21-point, nine-rebound game against Westchester last Tuesday. Schofield scored 13 of his 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter of the six-point win.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Capital City Go-Go vs. Westchester Knicks // January 21 // Entertainment and Sports Arena
The Go-Go (13-14) defeated the Westchester Knicks (13-14), 116-110, Tuesday night at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The Go-Go and Knicks traded runs to the begin the game, as Westchester got out to a 13-0 lead with Capital City answering with a 12-0 run of its own over the first seven minutes of the contest. The Go-Go and Knicks traded baskets the remainder of the first quarter, as Westchester led 28-25 entering the second. Capital City was able to stretch out to a 10-point lead in the second, but Westchester closed strong in the quarter to take a two-point lead into half.
The second half started with the teams trading baskets before the Go-Go took control with a 17-4 run and an 82-70 lead late in the third. Despite several one-possession leads in the fourth quarter, the Go-Go were able to maintain their advantage the final 12 minutes to hold on for the win.
The Go-Go, who improved to 11-5 at home on the season, were led by 21 points from both Jalen Hudson and Wizards’ assignee Admiral Schofield, who also added nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Ike Iroegbu continued his excellent play with 19 points and six rebounds, leading to a plus-19 rating on the night. Jalen Jones recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Jerian Grant (17 points) and Stefan Jankovic (11 points) rounded out the majority of the Go-Go scoring. Capital City outscored Westchester 28-9 in points off of turnovers and 62-46 in points in the paint – moving to 10-3 this season when scoring as many or more points in the paint as its opponent.
“It’s great,” Go-Go head coach Ryan Richman said postgame. “It’s great for me. It’s great for my staff [and] great for the players to be in these situations. It only gets us better. We made some mistakes and we will watch it -- we will watch the last two minutes tomorrow. It’s something like a staple that we do to kinda clean up what we need to do better in those situations. The G League, the parity, is so similar that you are going to have close games. I’m just happy the way the guys competed after going up to New York and not playing too well [to] come back and get the win.”
Capital City Go-Go vs. Windy City Bulls // January 23 // Entertainment and Sports Arena
The Go-Go (14-14) topped the Windy City Bulls (11-15), 106-89, on Thursday night at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. Capital City jumped out to an early double-digit lead, stretching out to as many as 12 early in the second quarter. The Bulls held the Go-Go in check the rest of the second, as they were able to close the gap and lead 42-40 at the break. The Go-Go were able to get their offense back on track in the third, closing on a 14-0 run to take a 70-58 advantage. Capital City’s eventual 18-0 run was fueled by three-consecutive three-pointers in a one-minute stretch from Jerian Grant, who finished with 23 points and seven rebounds. The Go-Go held their double-digit lead the entirety of the fourth quarter to win its fourth-straight home game, improving to 12-5 this season in the Nation’s Capital.
"Every team is good,” Go-Go head coach Ryan Richman said. “I know they're a little bit undermanned at this point, but every team in this league is good and every team can beat you if you're not respectful of your opponent. The only way to be respectful of your opponent is to play hard [and] I thought our guys played really hard. Obviously the first half wasn't pretty, but we made some adjustments. We moved the ball really well in the second half and shots started to fall. When you play the right way, good things happen. [It’s] pretty simple and it's great to see it happen to our guys."
Aside from Grant’s night, the Go-Go received contributions from Jalen Jones (18 points and five rebounds), Jalen Hudson (15 points) and Mike Cobbins (11 points and six rebounds). In his first game of the season, London Perrantes nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and eight assists. Noah Allen was a game-high plus-16 on the night, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
Capital City shot 10-18 (.556) from three in the second half, ending the night 14-35 (.400) from deep overall. The Go-Go finished with 26 assists on 40 made baskets, improving to 4-2 this season when tallying at least 25 assists. Capital City’s defense allowed a season-low-tying 89 points, turning Windy City over 20 times for 23 points.
Capital City Go-Go vs. Canton Charge // January 25 // Canton Memorial Civic Center
The Go-Go (14-15) dropped an overtime matchup with the Canton Charge (18-10), 120-118, Saturday night at Canton Memorial Civic Center. Capital City was led by 22 points from Jalen Jones and a double-double from Wizards’ assignee Johnathan Williams.
Capital City led by as many as 10 mid-way through the third quarter, but a late push by the Charge, a back-and-forth final quarter and a Jones bucket with three seconds left in regulation led the game to overtime. In the two-minute extra period, Capital City started the scoring with a 3-pointer from the recently signed London Perrantes, but the Go-Go went cold from there on and struggled to keep the Charge out of the paint. Canton scored on their next two possessions to take the lead and held on for the win.
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
THE WEEK AHEAD
Capital City will play just two games this week, both on the road. The Go-Go start the week Wednesday with a morning matchup against the Long Island Nets (10-17) at 11:00 A.M. at the Barclays Center. After two days off, the Go-Go take on the Lakeland Magic (17-13) on Saturday at 7:00 P.M. at the RP Funding Center.