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SQUADRON SWEEP THE MAGIC AT HOME

By Birmingham Squadron Staff /December 13, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (December 11, 2021) – The Birmingham Squadron notched a second-straight wire-to-wire victory, defeating the Lakeland Magic 97-88 to sweep the series. The Squadron have two more games remaining in a six-game home stand – both against the Memphis Hustle on Monday and Tuesday – before heading to Showcase.

The Squadron led by as most as 14 in the game after taking a lead early in the first quarter that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. Birmingham outshot (.405 to .298) and outrebounded (55 to 54) the Magic for the second straight game, and took advantage of Lakeland on the fast break, scoring 16 fast break points to the Magic’s 0.

Forward Malcolm Hill led the Squadron with 24 points and added eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block. Hill shot an extremely accurate 90 percent from the field on 9-of-10 attempts (3-for-3 from behind the arc). His .900 field goal percentage is tied for the third highest in a single game in the G League this season (min. 10 attempts).

22 of Hill’s points came in the first half of the game, shooting a perfect 100 percent from the field on 8-of-8 attempts. He is the only player over the last two seasons to start a game shooting 100 percent from the field in the first half on at least eight attempts.

Forward Zylan Cheatham tied his season-high with 19 rebounds, a performance that ranks tied for fourth in the G League this season. Cheatham added 14 points, three blocks, two assists and one steal, marking his fourth double-double this season. He is now averaging 10.9 rebounds per game this season, the sixth most in the league, and his four double-doubles rank tied for eighth in the league.
Forward BJ Johnson led the Magic with 26 points and added 13 rebounds, tallying a double-double along with forward Admiral Schofield who recorded 11 points and 14 rebounds.

The Squadron play a back-to-back series with the Memphis Hustle at home on Monday and Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. the final two games of a six-game home stand before heading to Las Vegas for the NBA G League Showcase.

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