76ers Two-Way Player Julian Champagnie Shines in Blue Coats’ Loss

Not long before the Philadelphia 76ers engaged in a rematch against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, Philly’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, fired up their fourth game of the season with a second matchup against the Capital City Go-Go.

On Thursday, the Blue Coats hosted the Go-Go in their season’s home opener. At the time, Delaware had three Sixers players on board as both two-way prospects, Mike Foster Jr. and Julian Champagnie, weren’t on the trip in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Philly’s former first-round pick Jaden Springer was on the roster for the night as he was on assignment. That wasn’t the case for the rematch, though. A few hours before the Sixers were set to tip-off against the Hawks once again, the Sixers recalled Springer.

That left the Blue Coats without a key starter for their matchup with the Go-Go. In Springer’s absence, the rookie forward Julian Champagnie stepped up and shined on Saturday night.

Right out of the gate, Champagnie was sharp from the field as he hit on five of his nine attempts in his first nine minutes on the floor. The rookie wrapped up the first quarter of action by scoring 11 of Delaware’s 23 first-quarter points.

A slow second quarter for the Blue Coats caused Delaware to go into halftime trailing 57-46. While Champagnie’s 17 first-half points kept the Blue Coats competitive, a lack of production from the supporting cast made it difficult for Delaware to keep up.

The Blue Coats stepped it up in the third quarter. As a team, they knocked down five of their eight threes and shot 62 percent from the field. Delaware rallied off 40 points and even took a lead before going into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, Capital City clapped back in the fourth quarter. As the Blue Coats cooled down, they failed to exceed 25 points. Meanwhile, the Go-Go took another double-digit lead and put the Blue Coats away with a 119-110 win. 

Despite the loss, Sixers two-way prospect Champagnie had himself a solid night as he scored 39 points off 23 shots. The young rookie hit five threes and knocked down all three of his free throws. In addition to his scoring, Champagnie collected six rebounds and blocked one shot.