NBL Canada This Week: 1st - 4th February
A shortened week in the NBL Canada saw eleven games played over four days, but it was still business as usual for all ten teams as we move into the latter half of the 2017/18 season:
Opening with a three-game Thursday, which saw Halifax Hurricanes go top of the Atlantic Division, with a greater rebounding show and 19 points off the bench for Renaldo Dixon as part of their comfortable win over Saint John Riptide. 34 points in the first quarter buoyed the Cape Breton Highlanders to victory over the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans. KW worked hard on the defensive boards and Derek Hall had 37 points and 11 rebounds in an attempt to get back into the game, but continued success in the field kept Cape Breton firmly in control. Tydran Beaty had 36 points and 10 rebounds in Cape Breton’s win.
Windsor Express's amazing show from three-point territory, with sixteen total threes, saw them lead the charge over London Lightning. London found it hard-going to get back into the game, and were down fourteen points going into the fourth quarter. Come crunch time, however, they slowly got themselves back into contention, but with good shot selection and composure, Windsor kept it a two-possession game to the very end. A three-pointer from Kyle Johnson at the death reduced London's arrears to three, but victory was Windsor’s, and a great, resounding victory it was. Doug Herring Jr had 28 points.
In the Niagara River Lions-Windsor Express matchup, all but one player who took to the floor made the scoresheet. It was a back-and-forth game, with advantage shifting from moment to moment and no more than three points separating the teams in the final quarter. Guillaume Boucard made a three to put Niagara up by four with 45 seconds to go, but in that remaining time Maurice Jones put up two free-throws for Windsor and a last-second layup from Shaquille Keith forced overtime. The extra period followed the same pattern as the rest of the game, with teams exchanging baskets, though both worked to not allow any easy looks. Jaylon Tate put the River Lions up by one 1:30 from time, then added two more from the foul line with five seconds to go. Braylon Rayson attempted a tying three-pointer at the death, but it fell short, and Niagara breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated a narrow win.
Moncton Magic and St. John's Edge met twice in as many nights this week. Firstly, on Friday, after a close first half the Magic started the second half in style, with Corey Allmond putting up seventeen unanswered points to put Moncton ten clear halfway through the third quarter, eventually running home to a comfortable win, 116 to 98. The second time was a far more competitive affair: Moncton came back after going down 17 early on, but behind tough defence and the scoring pair of Carl English and Charles Hinkle the Edge survived a late scare, in which top-scorer Anthony Anderson (26 points) made it a one-point game, to win by four.
After a close opening against the Island Storm on Saturday, Halifax Hurricanes captured the game with 37 points in the third quarter. Antoine Mason got scoring underway in this game and he went on to finish with 18 points, one of six Halifax players to score in double figures. The Storm’s Franklin Session was the game’s top scorer with 21, but they still fell to the Hurricanes 94 points to 117.
Also on Saturday night, after exchanging baskets with the River Lions throughout the first quarter, the Lightning almost completely shut them out when the game re-started. After being down by ten, Niagara narrowed the gap to two in the second half, but London played well from the field to hold on to their lead. Garrett Williamson led all scorers with 18 points for London, who won by eleven. Similarly, after a poor start against the Titans, the Saint John Riptide responded in the second quarter by outscoring their opponents 28 points to 7. Darren Duncan was leading the charge for the Titans in this one, with 19 points and 8 assists, but with sensational shooting from the Riptide, including 12 three-pointers, they finished with 88 points - 57 of which were between Malcolm Miller, Jeremiah Mordi and Mareik Isom - to Kitchener-Waterloo's 79.
Finally on Sunday, terrific performances from Gabe Freeman - 30 points and 11 rebounds - and Jeremiah Mordi - 29 points including five threes - lifted Saint John over Halifax, despite a great start from the Hurricanes and 28 points and 11 rebounds from Billy White. 32 second quarter points from the Riptide gave them the momentum to win the game and re-take the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Finally, neither the Island Storm or KW Titans would let up in the week’s final game. After many lead changes, the Titans went clear late in the game behind good, consistent play in the low post and Tramar Sutherland hitting from three-point territory. Another high-scoring show from Franklin Session, who had 25 points, would again not be enough for the Storm, who lost 111-98 to the Titans, who are now looking threatening moving into the latter part of the season.
For regular news and updates, and more on the NBL Canada and all this week's games, head to the official website.
