Montreal J. - Oshawa P. 114-106 Montreal Jazz gained just the second victory in the season as they toppled Oshawa Power. Eric Frederick (6'8''-F-88, college: Texas Wesleyan) was a usual contributor for the Jazz firing 35 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. J.R. Harrison (6'6''-F-84, college: Rice) added 22 points in a rare Jazz win. Montreal gained a 27:22 lead after the starting quarter. They managed to extend the lead to 10 points heading into the fourth stanza. Oshawa exploded with 40 points in the final period but it was not enough to celebrate win at the end. Courtland Bluford (6'2''-G-88, college: Assumption) notched 16 points for the winning side. Jushay Rockett (6'6''-F-84, college: Alaska-Fairb.) answered with 22 points for the Power. William Harris (6'7''-F-87, college: Miami Dade CC) and Larry Diamond (6'2''-G-86, college: Morehouse) netted 15 points apiece as Oshawa slipped at 11-9 record.
Montreal J. - Windsor Exp. 121-124 It was a short stay in the record books for guard Mike Helms (6'1''-PG-82, college: Oakland) as he helped the Windsor Express set another new mark in the National Basketball League of Canada Saturday. Helms scored 40 points and the Express persevered for a 124-121 win in triple overtime in Montreal over the Jazz in the longest game in league history. The 40 points by Helms tied a league record for most points in a game, but was broken Sunday when Brandon Robinson (6'6''-F-89, college: Clayton St.) scored 42 points to help the Summerside Storm to a 93-88 win over Moncton Miracles. 'Records are made to be broken and Brandon Robinson had 42, but it's all good, we got the win,' said Helms, who is an Oakland University grad. 'We could have done without that (triple overtime), but it was a character builder. We got the win and that's the good thing.' It was the third game in three days in Montreal for the Express, who allowed the Jazz to notch their first win of the season in Thursday's opener. Windsor rebounded to win Friday and then rallied from a seven-point deficit at the half to grab Saturday's win. 'Our goal was to get all three and to get to .500,' said Express head coach Bill Jones, whose team is now 10-12 on the season. 'After the first night, it didn't happen and we saw the team they had. Now, the best was to take two of three in a tough environment. 'This was a hard-fought game. It was good to come down and play three and to be able to take two from a team that's getting better because this Montreal Jazz team is going to get some teams.' The Express had chances to win the game in the first overtime, but watched a five-point lead slip away. A seven-point advantage disappear in the second overtime as Montreal used a three-point shot in the dying seconds of the first two overtimes to force another session. 'They played with a lot of heart and they wouldn't fold,' said Helms, who watched a would-be tying three-pointer in the third overtime by the Jazz fall short. 'It was the way the game was going and it wouldn't have surprised me if went in and have a fourth overtime. 'Body wise, I was glad to see it over, but basketball fans enjoyed it. From a player perspective, it should have been over earlier.' Montreal had no answer for Helms, who drove the lane at will finishing with 40 points, seven rebounds and three assists. 'It was one of those nights, I was able to get rolling and able to step up and do what I had to do for the team,' Helms said. Darren Duncan (5'11''-PG-88, college: Merrimack) added 25 points for Windsor, Chris Commons (6'9''-F-84, college: USC Aiken) 21 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Loiselle 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Express have now played 14 of their 22 games on the road. After dropping the first four away, Windsor is now 6-4 in its last 10 road games. 'We've spent a lot of time on the road, but you have to win on the road,' said Helms, whose team is in London Sunday for a 2 p.m. game with the league-leading Lightning. 'It's great to play at home, but champions find a way to win on the road.' Courtesy of: windsorstar.com
Halifax R. - London L. 85-97 On Saturday the Halifax Rainmen hosted the London Lightning in a rematch of last years NBL Finals, falling to the Lightning 97-85. The Lightning took a 23-15 lead into the second quarter, led by Jeremy Williams (6'7''-SF-87, college: UTEP) with 7 in the opening frame, while the Rainmen were led by Antoine Tisby (6'8''-F/C-83, college: S.Carolina) with 8. Lightning started the 2nd quarter on a 10-2 run and led 33-17 early in the 2nd. Rodney Buford (6'5''-G-77, college: Creighton) had 11 points in the second quarter to help the Lightning outscore the Rainmen 26-23, and the Lightning took a 49-38 lead into the second half. The Rainmen shot only 28% in the first half, compared to the Lightning 53%. The Rainmen won the 3rd quarter 26-24 led by Haywood with 12 and Tisby with 7. Heading into the 4th quarter, the Rainmen trailed 73-64. Early in the 4th quarter the Lightning were able to pull away, thank to 8 points by Elvin Mims (6'5''-F-79, college: S.Mississippi). Quinnel Brown hit a 3 with 4:05 to play cut the Lightning lead to 10, but the Lightning were able to hold down the stretch for the 97-85 win. The Lightning were led by forward Elvin Mims who had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Rodney Buford, DeAndre Thomas (6'8''-C-86, college: Robert Morris) and Marvin Phillips, who came off the bench to record 17, 14 and 10 points respectively. The Rainmen were led by centre Antoine Tisby who had a massive double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Quinnel Brown who had 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Rainmen suffered from poor shooting, as they shot only 33% from the field, 19% from 3 and 63% from the free-throw line. The Rainmen did do an excellent job of pounding the offensive glass, reeling in 23 offensive rebounds, led by Tisby with 7. The Rainmen now fall to 10-12 on the season, and will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Saint John to take on the Mill Rats next Thursday. Courtesy of: oursportscentral.com
Moncton M. - Summerside S. 88-93 It was another National Basketball League of Canada record-setting performance by Summerside Storm guard Brandon Robinson in a 93-88 win over the Moncton Miracles on Sunday afternoon. After becoming the first player in the two-year-old league to score over 1,000 points last week, Robinson broke the single-game points scoring record with 42, including some clutch shots when the Storm needed them the most en route to their fourth straight win. With the teams tied 80-80 and four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Robinson proceeded to score nine of the Storm's final 13 points. In the dying minutes, Robinson hit four consecutive foul shots, a three-pointer and two more clutch field goals. "It was a great win for our team, and everyone helped out," said Robinson, who led the league in scoring with the Oshawa Power last season. "My teammates were able to find me and get me the ball in good position. "It wasn't just me or two or three guys. It was everyone. We share this win with everyone on the team." In total, Robinson was 13-for-21 from the field and 12-for-13 from the foul line. The six-foot-five shooting guard was also second on the team with seven rebounds. "It was a good game," Robinson said. "Moncton's got a very good team, and they always play tough against us. It's always physical. "If that's the way they want to play, we can play that way too." Before 1,807 spectators at the Moncton Coliseum, the Storm came out of the gate hot, starting the game on a 9-2 run to force the Miracles to call an early timeout. Summerside continued to break down Moncton the remainder of the first quarter and took a 29-15 lead after the first 12 minutes, led by Willy Manigat (5'11''-PG-87)'s two three-point buckets in the final minutes of the period. Moncton's scoring troubles were gone in the second quarter, and Summerside couldn't find the net. The Storm was outscored 26-13 in the quarter and only up 42-41 at halftime. Summerside opened the third quarter strong, but fell behind on the scoreboard several times during the frame. They took a 68-64 lead into the fourth quarter. After 10 minutes of back-and-fourth basketball, the Storm took over the game in the final two minutes of regulation. Moncton lost control of the basketball several times in the clutch, and Summerside was able to capitalize on its mistakes with transition buckets. With 0:03 seconds left on the clock, Robinson stepped to the free-throw line to ice the game for his team, and by hitting his first shot broke the league points record for a single game. Courtesy of: journalpioneer.com
St.John M.R. - London L. 106-109 OT London Lightning coach Micheal Ray Richardson used every cliche in the book. 'It's not how you start, it's how you finish,' he said. 'It's never over until it's over.' Cliche or not, the Mill Rats thought they had the Lightning all but strung up Sunday in Saint John, N.B. But the Rats learned an important lesson . . . a championship team knows how to win. The Lightning showed them that by beating the Mill Rats 109-106 in overtime after trailing by as many as 12 points in the third quarter and nine with five minutes left. 'You learn that when you are down nine with five minutes left in the game, the game isn't over,' Richardson said. It was a good win for the Lightning considering it was their second National Basketball League of Canada game in 24 hours. They defeated the Rainmen in Halifax 97-85 on Saturday. The Lightning are now 19-2 on the season. 'When you have veterans who know how to win, you are never out of a game,' Richardson said. 'But we played great defence and got a great game from Jeremy Williams. Williams and Elvin Mims had a big game against the Mill Rats. Mims had 25 points, while Williams hit for 22 and added 13 rebounds. Rod Buford had 18 and Tim Ellis 14. Adrian Moss added 12 assists for the Lightning. Jerice Crouch (6'0''-G-84, college: Chattanooga) had 28 for the Mill Rats. The Mill Rats looked home and dry, especially the way they were popping three-balls through the third quarter, but that dried up in the fourth. 'We just hung in there and then (the Mill Rats) legs just went,' Richardson said. On Saturday, the Lightning built a double digit lead and the Rainmen couldn't make it back. Mims led the Lightning on Saturday with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Buford added 17, De/Andrew Thomas 12, Jermaine Blackburn 12 and Phillips had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Antoine Tisby had 19 points and 16 boards. It's a tough grind for Ontario teams when they play Saturday and Sunday on the east coast. This was the first trip for the Lightning. With the change in the makeup of the schedule, they only play each east coast team four times. But the Atlantic Conference is a tight, tough conference and a couple of losses can drop you from first to last. 'What did I say before we left for the east?' Richardson said. 'With our team, we can play anywhere and we can win anywhere. That's what it's like to have a veteran team. The Lightning will have to make a player change sometime this week. Canadian guard Osvaldo Jeanty has gotten an offer to return to Germany to play and will be leaving this week. Richardson said they will be trying a couple of Canadians to see who is a better replacement for Jeanty. The Lightning have their last big home stand of the regular season beginning this week. They play Moncton at home Thursday and then play Sunday against the Windsor Express. Courtesy of: lfpress.com
Hurricanes erase big deficit to take opener of Atlantic Division Final over Moncton - 12 hours ago
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The Halifax Hurricanes performed some fourth-quarter magic over Moncton at home Thursday night, overcoming a 17-point deficit to take the opener of the National Basketball League of Canada Atlantic Division Final 107-97. The Hurricanes trailed 35-17 at the end of the first-quarter as the Magic were led by hot-shooting guard Terry Thomas, who finished with a game-high 36 points. Halifax slowly cut the lead on the strength of 33 points from guard Antoine Mason (6'3''-G-92, college: Auburn),... [read more]
The Halifax Hurricanes performed some fourth-quarter magic over Moncton at home Thursday night, overcoming a 17-point deficit to take the opener of the National Basketball League of Canada Atlantic Division Final 107-97. The Hurricanes trailed 35-17 at the end of the first-quarter as the Magic were led by hot-shooting guard Terry Thomas, who finished with a game-high 36 points. Halifax slowly cut the lead on the strength of 33 points from guard Antoine Mason (6'3''-G-92, college: Auburn), who shot 50 per cent from the floor, before the team went on a 34-16 fourth-quarter run to tie the game and eventually take the lead. Also leading the comeback, a number of three pointers in the fourth quarter off the bench from guard Ta'Quan Zimmerman (6'2''-G-91, college: Monroe CC),, who finished with 29 points, one of six Hurricanes to score in double figures. He finished 4-for-7 from behind the three-point line. Forward Mike Poole (6'6''-G/F-92, college: Iona) also scored 15, collected six boards and grabbed three steals on the night for Halifax. Game 2 of the Atlantic Final goes on Saturday at Scotiabank Centre before the series shifts to Moncton for games 3 and 4. Courtesy of: halifaxtoday.ca
The London Lightning fell 112-104 to the St. John's Edge in Game 2 of the Central Division Final on Thursday. The Edge scored a 35-18 lead by the end of the first quarter and the Lightning remained behind by 14 points at halftime. London fought hard to come within three points of St. John's in the third frame to make it 85-83, but they weren't able to catch up in the fourth. Royce White (6'8''-F-91, college: Iowa St.) led London with 29 points and nine rebounds, while Garrett Williamson (... [read more]
The London Lightning fell 112-104 to the St. John's Edge in Game 2 of the Central Division Final on Thursday. The Edge scored a 35-18 lead by the end of the first quarter and the Lightning remained behind by 14 points at halftime. London fought hard to come within three points of St. John's in the third frame to make it 85-83, but they weren't able to catch up in the fourth. Royce White (6'8''-F-91, college: Iowa St.) led London with 29 points and nine rebounds, while Garrett Williamson (6'5''-G-88, college: St.Joseph's) put up another 22 points and had eight rebounds. Maurice Bolden (6'10''-G/F-89, college: S.Mississippi) also added 20 points and ten rebounds. Wally Ellenson (6'6''-G-94, college: Marquette) provided 20 points for the Edge. The best-of-five series is now tied 1-1. The Lightning will look to bounce back in Game 3 on Saturday. Tip-off is at 5:30pm in St. John's. Courtesy of: blackburnnews.com
Lightning win a classic opener over Edge - 2 days ago
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It turned into an NBL classic not because the basketball was textbook, but because it was edge-of-your-seat excitement. The Lightning came up with a massive win in London on Tuesday night, taking it 140-133 in double overtime to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NBL Central Division final over the St. John's Edge in front of 2,453. The game was a battle of endurance, a roller-coaster ride of massive proportions, a wild game that had just about everything: intensity, good basketball, sl... [read more]
It turned into an NBL classic not because the basketball was textbook, but because it was edge-of-your-seat excitement. The Lightning came up with a massive win in London on Tuesday night, taking it 140-133 in double overtime to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NBL Central Division final over the St. John's Edge in front of 2,453. The game was a battle of endurance, a roller-coaster ride of massive proportions, a wild game that had just about everything: intensity, good basketball, sloppy basketball, lots of physical play, both teams taking turns beating up on the other with bodies flying all over the floor. It was a pot that came oh-so-close to boiling over but never quite got there. It was entertaining, unpredictable and fascinating all rolled into 48 minutes of drama. The aftermath of the effort put in by both teams could be seen outside the dressing rooms as players were being treated, ice packs strapped to various parts of their bodies. There truly were too many turning points to list them all. For the Lightning there were a slew of players who contributed something to the win. For the Edge it was a gutsy performance that they probably feel was good enough to steal the opener. 'It was a great team effort,' Lightning coach Keith Vassell said. 'They want to win. Rudy Tomjanovich (NBA coach) said 'Never underestimate the heart of a champion.' They are defending champs and they step up when they have to step up regardless of what is happening.' That list would include Kyle Johnson, who hit a massive three-pointer at the end of first overtime to extend it; Royce White (6'8''-F-91, college: Iowa St.), who kept the Lightning in the game when they couldn't shoot from the outside; Ryan Anderson (6'4''-G-87, college: Nebraska), who hit a couple of big shots and made some tough defensive plays and had seven assists; Julian Boyd (6'7''-F-90, college: LIU Brooklyn), who gave the Lightning some additional offence; and Garrett Williamson (6'5''-G-88, college: St.Joseph's), who responded to White fouling out by making several big offensive plays down the stretch. He was clutch from the foul line, including grabbing an offensive rebound from his own miss that eventually turned into two more foul shots for him. White led the Lightning with 35 points and 10 rebounds and fouled out in the second overtime, while Williamson finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Reid (6'9''-C/F-86, college: Florida St.) had 27 for the Edge, with Carl English (6'5''-G-81, college: Hawaii) finishing with 22 and Charles Hinkle 21. It was a tough loss for an Edge team that gave it everything they had in a physically draining game. 'We talked about it going into the game that it's a game of runs and you have to play through that,' said Edge coach Jeff Dunlap , who looked exhausted in his own right after the game. 'You just hope you make enough plays at the end to win the game and both teams did. At the end of the game it's just a coin flip. 'I'm proud of our guys. That's a hard fought game and it's tough to lose it but it's only Game 1. We have a long way to go.' NBL semifinals normally operate on a 2-2-1-1-1 basis, but the distance to travel between London at St. John's forced the series to change to a 2-3-2 format. If London sweeps the first two games, they are in pretty good shape. But a split puts them in a pressure situation heading to St. John's. Pulling out the win was huge for the Lightning. 'It was a dogfight,' Williamson said. 'We came to play, they came to play. It was a game of runs. They had us on the ropes a lot. I think the biggest thing for us was keeping our focus, keeping our composure down the stretch. I have huge confidence in these guys. KJ made huge shots, Royce made plays, everybody was making plays. We knew if we just stayed the course and concentrated on making stops we had confidence we could pull it out.' The Lightning were down five in both overtimes but managed to pull back to win. Both teams needed to be composed because it was a difficult game to officiate and there were several controversial calls that impacted the game, including reversals of original calls. It happened to both teams. 'There were some big calls down the stretch and the referees are trying to do their best,' Williamson said. 'It's an emotional game; it's crunch time and anything that goes against us . . . It's my job to get in my teammates ears and keep them focused.' The Edge gave the Lightning all they could handle but they haven't won in four tries in London and they need to find at least one win here. 'We've been down this road before and we need to get over hump. There's a monkey on our back to win here,' Dunlap said. 'It's intangible factor to be honest with you. There's an expectation of winning that comes out of that locker room. It aids them . . . Our guys are fighters, talent-wise we're swinging away. We need to know what that knockout punch is. We haven't found that yet.' Game 2 of the series is Thursday in London. 'It's a big win for us but it's only one,' Vassell said. 'We have to do it again on Thursday.' Courtesy of: lfpress.com
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