Sergio Guerra, Sports Editor/Photographer  

The Greensboro Swarm was in action at the weekend in a double-header against the Windy City Bulls. The first game took place on Friday, January 30^th in front of a sellout crowd and saw the Bulls take down the hosts 115-110, with a monstrous 41-21 fourth quarter that vaporized the Swarm’s lead. The second game was supposed to take place the next day, but was rescheduled for Monday, February 2^nd because of the snow storm that Greensboro suffered. In the return leg, the Charlotte Hornets-affiliate blew out Chicago with a score of 126-103.  

Swarm’s Performances 

The Greensboro Swarm came into this weekend’s series with a record of 10-4 in the regular season. Last time out, the Swarm was in Portland taking on the Maine Celtics in a double-header. Greensboro would win the first match 122-112 before being defeated by the Celtics  the following game 147-138. 

First Leg of the Series 

The first matchup of the series saw the Swarm defeated 115-110 by the Windy City Bulls, led by stars such as Mac McClung (three-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion) and Yuki Kawamura. However, the Swarm had a sizeable advantage towards the end of the match, ending the third quarter 89-74. The Bulls would storm back in that fourth quarter with a 41-21 run to take down Greensboro. 

Keyontae Johnson led the hosts in scoring with 23 points, followed closely by Liam McNeeley who tacked on 22 points and five assists. On the other end of the court, Chicago’s Kevin Knox II notched a double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He wasn’t the only Bull to get a double-double, as Giorgi Bezhanishvili recorded 24 points and 14 rebounds.  

The two matches were sellouts with over 2,000 in attendance. The matches represent the 28^th and 29^th sellouts in franchise history. 

Swarm Close the Weekend with Win 

In the second match of the series (rescheduled for Monday, February 2^nd), the Greensboro Swarm would take down the visitors in dominant fashion with a scoreline of 126-103. The second half of the contest saw the Swarm outscore the Bulls by 22 points en route to the blow out win. 

The Greensboro Swarm dominated the paint against the Windy City Bulls—90 points were scored in the interior for Greensboro. Meanwhile, the Windy City Bulls only scored 36 points in the paint. Tidjane Salaun led Greensboro to the win with a 25-point and 14-rebound double-double. PJ Hall added 19 points and 11 rebounds for his own double-double. Keyontae Johnson made his presence felt with 19 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes of play. 

The win and loss of the weekend take Greensboro’s record to 11-5 in the regular season, while the Bulls march at an 8-7 record. Up next, the Greensboro Swarm are on the road to take on the Cleveland Charge (9-5) in a back-to-back on February 6^th and 7^th . The Swarm is back home on February 11^th to face the Capital City Go-Go. 

Images by Sergio Guerra.