Summerside S. - London L. 116-97 The Storm posted a 116-97 victory over the National Basketball League of Canada-leading London Lightning, who came into Summerside with an overall record of 23-2 (won-lost) and a 9-0 resume on the road. 'I'm very pleased,' said Storm head coach Joe Salerno. 'This was going to be a measuring stick for us, playing the best team in the league.' The Atlantic Division-leading Storm improved to 16-10 in what can be described as a bounce-back game before an announced crowd 1,353 fans. It was the Storm's first game since allowing a 20-point halftime lead to evaporate in a 117-114 home-court loss to the Oshawa Power on Sunday afternoon. 'We had 31 assists, we were moving the ball,' said Salerno in assessing his team's play against London. 'I thought Brandon Robinson (6'6''-F-89, college: Clayton St.) played one of the best games he's played for us all season. 'He had 36 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and just hit tough shots. We had a steady production out of our starting five, and we extended their minutes a little more tonight (Thursday). 'We didn't go to the bench quite as much tonight, but when we did I thought the bench came in and played well also. 'We wanted to push the tempo, and I thought we were very good in transition. I thought we made good decisions, and most of that started on the glass.' Omari Johnson (6'9''-F-89, college: Oregon St.) (24), Greg Plummer (22) and Antonio Ballard (14) were the other leading scorers for the Storm. Johnson hauled in 10 rebounds to also notch a double-double. Tim Ellis (6'4''-G-81, college: Kansas St.) (25), Rodney Buford (6'5''-G-77, college: Creighton) (14), Elvin Mims (13) and Jeremy Williams (13) were London's top point-getters. Josiah Turner made his Storm debut after signing with the team earlier this week. Turner shot 1-for-5 from the field, was 0-for-2 from beyond the arc, chipped in with eight assists and had one defensive rebound in approximately six minutes of playing time. Salerno liked what he saw in the 20-year-old, especially his vision on the court. After the Lightning jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, the Storm went on to build a 13-point lead, 33-20, late in the first quarter, which ended with the Storm in front 33-22. The Lightning scored the first six points of the second quarter, and although they closed to within 45-44 London never led in the period. Brandon Robinson banked a buzzer-beating three-pointer off the glass to send the Storm into halftime in front 54-47. The Storm came out of the locker room on fire, scoring the first 13 points of the third quarter to go up 67-47. After Buford scored the Lightning's first basket of the quarter to make it 67-49, Plummer hit from downtown to give Storm 70-49 advantage. However, the veteran Lightning did not panic and went on a 23-6 run to cut the Storm lead to 76-72. The Storm answered back with two clutch free throws by Robinson and a dunk by Johnson to take a 80-72 cushion into the final 12-minute period. The Lightning was within striking distance, down 94-87 with just under five minutes remaining, but Robinson continued to deliver key shots as he sank his first of two three-pointers down the stretch to make it a 10-point game. 'We said in the third quarter, Listen, this team is 23-2 for a reason, and they are going to make a run at us and we have to withstand that run,'' said Salerno. 'We knew they were going to make it, and we had to punch back. 'Last Sunday was a real tough loss for the guys, and they weren't going to let that happen. London threw a lot of punches at us, and we punched back.' The Storm had very little time to celebrate Thursday night's win. That's because the Storm is right back on the court at Eastlink Arena this evening (Friday), hosting the Halifax Rainmen in the opening game of a home-and-home series between the two Atlantic Division teams at 7 p.m. The teams meet again at the Halifax Metro Centre on Sunday. The Storm brings a 16-10 (won-lost) record into the game while Halifax, which is coming off a 110-82 win over the Windsor Express on Thursday night, is 13-14. Courtesy of: journalpioneer.com
St.John M.R. - Moncton M. 133-122 OT The Saint John Mill Rats presented by Rogers, battled out for a huge overtime win over the Moncton Miracles at Harbour Station on Thursday night in front of 2, 875 fans with a final score of 133-122. The Miracles got an early lead in the first but the Mill Rats were able to tie it up, 17-17 with 5 minutes left. After some clutch baskets from Steve DeLuca (6'6''-G/F-86, college: Brandeis) and a great play from Anthony Anderson (5'11''-G-81, college: Massachusetts) out to Mike Anderson for a three, the Mill Rats jumped ahead of the Miracles, closing the first, 35-25. The Miracles battled back in the second quarter to close the spread but still were not able to edge out the Mill Rats before half. By half time, Mill Rats Deluca had already drained 17 points, contributing to the 54-50 lead for Saint John. The third quarter, the Miracles came out blazing, outscoring the Mill Rats 42-29. Just over 3 minutes into the third, the Miracles were able to take back the lead. The Miracles started the quarter down by 4 points but were able to widen their lead and close the third, 83-92. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, it looked as though the Mill Rats were going to lose the battle as the Miracles pulled into a double digit lead. With 5 minutes left in play, Taneiko Robinson pumped some life into the game, dropping a three pointer, closing the spread 98-106. After a three from Jerice Crouch and a basket from Cavell Johnson, the Mill Rats slowly chipped away at the Miracle's lead. With 2:16 to go, a lay-up from Johnson and three points from Kenny Jones (6'6''-PF-84, agency: Dream Team Management, college: Kentucky St.)' And 1 play, made it a three point ball game, 110-113. With 10.5 seconds to go, Kenny Jones got the ball down low, pretended to make the play in towards the basket but passed off to Cavell at the top of the key for a basket that tied the game, 115-115, bringing it into overtime. In overtime play, the Mill Rats were able to drain their shots but hold the Miracles off from getting more than one shot off at the other end. They outscored the Miracles in overtime, 18-7. A dunk from Johnson at the end, solidified the win at home for Saint John, 133-122. For his debut game with the Mill Rats, Kenny Jones led the team in scoring with 25 points. Anthony Anderson played a huge game, getting a double double with 20 points and 14 assists while Steve DeLuca contributed 20 points. Leading the Miracles was Oliver McNally (6'3''-G, college: Harvard) with 28 while Devin Sweetney had 26. Head Coach David Cooper comments on the debut of Kenny Jones in tonight's game: "Kenny Jones brought a lot to us tonight. He can score down low and give us a low post presence. He opens up the floor which can make a lot of things happen for us." This win comes after a losing stretch for the Mill Rats and the pressure is on. Coach Cooper needs to make a couple of cuts this week. "I'm really proud with the effort they put in tonight - the guys have been working hard in practice. Taneiko Robinson came out to play and Kenny Jones - what can I say about him - he came here for one reason. That kid's a beast." The Mill Rats are back in action tomorrow night to host the Windsor Express at Harbour Station. Courtesy of: oursportscentral.com
Halifax R. - Windsor Exp. 110-82 On Thursday night the Halifax Rainmen got back to their winning ways, beating the Express 110-82 in front of a crowd of 1737 at the Metro Centre. In the first quarter the Rainmen went on a 14-0 run to give them a 20-10 lead midway through the quarter and continued their torrid pace, as the finished the 1st leading 34-19 on 60% from the field and 80% from 3 in the quarter, led by Quinnel Brown (6'6''-F-83, college: Auburn) with 11 points. The Express narrowed the score to 37-29 but the Rainmen went on a 25-13 run to finish the quarter, and led 62-42 at the half. The Rainmen won the 3rd quarter 27-19 and took a 89-61 lead into the fourth quarter led by Quinnel Brown with 24 points. In the fourth quarter the bench took care of business, as the Rainmen were able to secure the 110-82 win, and improve to 13-14 on the season. The Rainmen were paced by a balanced effort, as every player scored and they had 6 players score in double figures, led by Brown with 24 points, Trayvon Lathan (6'7''-G-84, agency: Elite Talent Exchange, college: Chowan) with 15 and 10 rebounds, Antoine Tisby with 13 and 10 rebounds, Joey Haywood with 13, Cedric Moodie with 11, and Hillary Haley with 10. The Express were led by Kevin Loiselle (6'6''-F) with 15 points and 8 rebounds, Lester Prosper (6'10''-F/C-88, college: Old Westbury) with 14 points and 18 rebounds and Mike Helms finished with 14 points. Courtesy of: oursportscentral.com
Oshawa P. - Montreal J. 127-102 The Oshawa Power went wire-to-wire for a win over the Montreal Jazz Wednesday night at the General Motors Centre. Oshawa built up a seven-point lead after one quarter and was ahead by 31 after three en route to cruising to a 127-102 victory over the visiting Jazz. Mark Gomillia (6'5''-F-87, college: SF Austin) led the offence for the Power, scoring a team-high 29 points, while five other players scored in double figures. William 'Bo' Harris has 19 points along with eight assists, while second-string point guard Larry Diamond shone with an 18-point, seven-assist and seven-rebound effort in the win. Reigning NBL Canada player of the week Nick Okorie (6'1''-PG-88, college: Texas Tech) added 14 points and five assists, while Oshawa native Courtney Small dropped in 12 points on an efficient six-for-eight shooting from the floor. Pickering's Papa Oppong chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. On the glass, both Shamus Ferguson and Jushay Rockett were impressive, with Ferguson hauling down 12 rebounds and Rockett a game-high 14. As a team, the Power distributed the ball well, finishing with 31 assists. Montreal, as a team, had just eight. The two teams will meet again this weekend, but in Montreal as the 2-23 Jazz host the 16-11 Power Friday night. Following Friday's game the Power is off until Feb. 6 when they will pay a visit to the Windsor Express. Courtesy of: durhamregion.com
River Lions part ways with NBL, join new league - 8 days ago
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The Niagara River Lions have withdrawn from the National Basketball League of Canada in favour of a new circuit founded by the club's CEO, the newly formed Canadian Elite Basketball League. River Lions CEO Richard Petko is the founder of the new league, which will begin its season in May of 2019. 'There were a number of variables that went into this decision, and it wasn't taken without thorough examination and thought, said River Lions public relations manager Michelle Biskup [read more]
The Niagara River Lions have withdrawn from the National Basketball League of Canada in favour of a new circuit founded by the club's CEO, the newly formed Canadian Elite Basketball League. River Lions CEO Richard Petko is the founder of the new league, which will begin its season in May of 2019. 'There were a number of variables that went into this decision, and it wasn't taken without thorough examination and thought,' said River Lions public relations manager Michelle Biskup. The River Lions notified the NBL of its departure on Friday. 'Many of the details are based on the league's business model and operations, and are proprietary in nature. Therefore, I can't get into specifics around how and why this decision was made,' said Biskup. 'A team owner has the right to opt out after a period of time, and that right was exercised only once all obligations to the ownership group were completely fulfilled,' added Biskup. 'We're excited for the Niagara region to join us on this new journey and wish the NBL Canada nothing but the best.' The River Lions join Hamilton, Guelph, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Abbotsford in the CEBL. They will continue to play their games in the Meridian Centre. 'From their opening tip off in 2015, the Niagara River Lions have been an outstanding partner of the Meridian Centre,' said Jeff Dixon, general manager of the Meridian Centre. 'The River Lions have provided local fans with top level, entertaining, family fun basketball. The Meridian Centre is thrilled to continue to grow and support our partnership with the River Lions as they enter the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The future of basketball in St. Catharines is exciting.' Courtesy of: niagarathisweek.com
Bob Johnston, vice-president of basketball operations for The Sudbury Five, has announced two additions to the team's front office staff. Jennifer McGillivray and Roberto Bagnato are helping the team plan for its inaugural season in the National Basketball League of Canada, to tip off late in the fall [read more]
Bob Johnston, vice-president of basketball operations for The Sudbury Five, has announced two additions to the team's front office staff. Jennifer McGillivray and Roberto Bagnato are helping the team plan for its inaugural season in the National Basketball League of Canada, to tip off late in the fall. 'Having two high-calibre people like Jennifer and Roberto is an exciting complement on the front office side of the business as we work hard to finalize the basketball operations first few hires,' Johnston said in a statement. 'There is a lot of work ahead, from league meetings, to hiring the new coach and an exciting summer and fall of roll out activities and these two professionals are helping lead the way.' McGillivray was born in Elliot Lake and has spent several years working in arts management, including three seasons as the executive director of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. Bagnato, born and raised in Sudbury, joins The Five after a year with the Pittsburgh Penguins in their youth hockey department. He's no stranger to SW Sports and Entertainment, the Five's parent organization, having worked for several years with the Sudbury Wolves hockey club. The NBL of Canada recently completed its seventh season, with the London Lightning crowned as champions. The 2018-19 schedule is expected to be released this summer. Courtesy of: thesudburystar.com
Finals MVP: Doug Herring Jr. (6'3''-G-87) of London L. Player of the Year: Carl English (6'5''-G-81) of St.John's E. Rookie of the Year: Jaylon Tate (6'3''-G-95) of Niagara RL Defensive Player of the Year: Du'Vaughn Maxwell (201-F-91) of Island S. Domestic Player of the Year: Carl English (6'5''-G-81) of St.John's E. Sixt Man of the Year: Ta'Quan Zimmerman (6'2''-G-91) of Halifax H. Newcomer of the Year: Franklin Session (6'2''-G-89) of Island S. Coach of the Year: Mike Leslie of Halifax H.
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