After another rough shooting night, the Greensboro Swarm was defeated by the Los Angeles Defenders, 99-92, as they dropped their third straight.
Every franchise goes through rough patches; it’s the nature of sports. Not much went right for Greensboro as they once again came up short against the Los Angeles D-Fenders 99-92 at home on Thursday night. Los Angeles was led by forward Vander Blue, who finished with an impressive 33 points and 12 boards on the night.
Charlotte Hornets‘ assignee, Christian Wood, once again put in work for Greensboro, tallying 22 points and eight rebounds in another solid effort. Wood hit 10 of his 16 field goals in 28 minutes. The Meanwhile, leading scorers Xavier Munford, and Aaron Harrison struggled. Munford had another rough night, finishing with seven points on 1-10 shooting from the field (0-4 from long range).
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He also added five rebounds and four dimes. Harrison finished with 21 points, but shot 8-22 and was 3-9 from downtown. Harrison was the only starter to score in double figures, as the starting lineup featured four guards and center Shonn Miller.
Once again, the young Swarm squad squandered an early lead. After outscoring LA 27-17 in the first quarter, the Swarm went into halftime up 47-39. Greensboro, in addition to Wood’s performance, was helped by Mike Tobey‘s presence. Tobey tallied 15 points and five boards off the pine.
Despite outscoring the D-Fenders in the paint (60-44) and on second-chance points (21-16), the Swarm was still outscored in the second half 60-45. Los Angeles followed a 29-point third quarter with a 31-point effort in the fourth, which stifled Greensboro and held them off for a seven-point win.
In a game that had seven lead changes and was tied 13 times, the D-Fenders looked for Blue at every opportunity. Josh Magette added 16 points for LA, and former UNC product Travis Wear added 17 points off the bench.
After now dropping three straight games, the Swarm is in the midst of a rough stretch. Their playoff hopes are starting to dwindle as they are 3-7 in their last 10. Not many expected Greensboro to compete immediately but a few more wins were surely thought to come with the great players that are on the team.
Greensboro will look to return to the winner’s circle on Monday, December 26 for a 2 p.m. matchup with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The game will be played at the Fieldhouse in Greensboro and will mark the second time the teams have met in a week.
