
For the second time this season against the Cleveland Charge, the Motor City Cruise emerged victorious.
The game ignited from the opening moments. Cleveland came out immediately with a strong start and had the Cruise trailing in the game’s early stages. However, amidst the initial setback — Jontay Porter came alive and was an impactful presence for the Cruise, countering the early setback.
Stanley Umude delivered a crucial triple that also halted Cleveland’s dominance, slightly narrowing their gap to 31-25 in the first quarter, and this timely play injected renewed energy into the team. As the second quarter unfolded, a swift transition led to a seamless finish through contact bucket by Umude that sparked a thrilling sequence and forced an immediate timeout by the Charge.
Motor City capitalized and used this momentum swing to their advantage. While the remainder of the game in the third and fourth quarters featured a lot of back and forth between both teams, it came down to the wire and witnessed a handful of players getting in on all the action.
The standout player for the Charge was Emoni Bates — the force who shone again, and led all of their scorers with an astounding 32 points, accompanied by 2 steals.
Cleveland’s Shariffe Cooper generated some offense as well, including a play that was a jump-shot over the arms of Jontay Porter that got them back into the scoring groove and cut their deficit to 4 points. The Cruise, though, continued to have their responses — especially from the team’s leader, Zavier Simpson.
Jamelle McMillan — having achieved a commendable 7-3 record with his squad, recently was recognized as coach of the month. Zavier Simpson highlighted the immediate and profound effect that he has had on him and his teammates, and how it has been nothing short of remarkable.
“He’s done a tremendous job with us. He’s put us all in positions to succeed at the highest level we can, the way we’ve been playing — so being able to play for a coach like that, is phenomenal and it’s well-deserved for him.”
The Motor City Cruise is fueled by their recent performances under the guidance of head coach McMillan. Next up on their calendar, the team will head to Illinois to face the Windy City Bulls. The game is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 10 and tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
Photo Courtesy: @Motorcitycruise on Instagram


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