NBL Canada This Week: 21st-25th February
Beginning on Wednesday, London Lightning led the Windsor Express by ten points in the first quarter. After which, Shaquille Keith led the comeback for Windsor, who tied the scores at halftime and started to build a big lead in the third. Chad Frazier fought off a late comeback attempt from London, and finished as the game’s top scorer with 28 points. Logan Stutz was amazing from long-range, sinking four three-pointers as part of his total 18 points to go with 18 rebounds, and despite a highly impressive 28 points and 12 rebounds from Royce White, London lost their grip on this game and Windsor took full advantage, winning by ten points.
It was business as usual for the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans: after another bad start against the St. John’s Edge, they rallied behind Ed Horton and Tramar Sutherland, who had 24 and 21 points respectively, to level the scores down the stretch. At the end of a tight fourth quarter, a decisive play from Sutherland gave the Titans the buffer they needed, and Justin Hurtt made two free-throws to put the result beyond doubt.
Both Halifax Hurricanes and Cape Breton Highlanders played very well when they met up on Friday night, but Billy White would be the hero for Halifax, lifting the team past a tough first quarter on his way to 29 points in the game the Hurricanes won 115-101. His teammate Ta’Quan Zimmerman had 23 off the bench, while for the Highlanders Bruce Massey Jr led all scorers with 33.
Meanwhile, Windsor’s strength, composure and resolve saw them with a slight edge over Kitchener-Waterloo. The Express were lifted by Maurice Jones, who made 15 of his 17 points from three-point territory. 62 points in the second half from the Titans narrowed the gap down the stretch, but continued success in the field and the foul line saw Windsor hold on at the end by three points.
The teams faced off again the next night, this time in Kitchener. The Titans were down by four at the end of a close first quarter, after which they took their biggest lead of the game at eight, putting together two scoring runs totalling 17 points. Windsor began the second half showing strength in the paint and the low-post - Shaquille Keith had 13 of his total 24 points in the third quarter alone. The Titans went on an eleven-point run to try and narrow the gap as time ticked down, but with Windsor continuing to find spots on the floor they remained perfect this week with a third straight win.
A three-game Sunday saw the Hurricanes emerge victorious in a stilted encounter with the Moncton Magic. Mike Poole and CJ Washington both had double-doubles as they won 81 to 73. Island Storm moved off the bottom of the Atlantic Division with a big win over the Highlanders. By making more than half their attempts from the field, Chris Johnson putting up 37 points and the team outscoring Cape Breton by 24 points in the second quarter, the Storm survived a second-half onslaught from the Highlanders to win 138 to 121. Malik Story had 38 points and Jamal Reynolds and Rashad Whack had big games off the bench in Cape Breton's loss.
The week concluded with the latest chapter in the continued rivalry between the Lightning and the Niagara River Lions. Dwayne Smith put Niagara up by four at the end of the first quarter against London, but the joy would be short-lived. With everyone on the Lightning’s roster at full strength, everyone did what they do best when the game re-started, and found themselves with a double-digit lead. Not wanting to go down without a fight, however, the River Lions kept taking possession from the Lightning and finding open looks.
Samuel Muldrow and Ronnie Johnson’s work in the third quarter saw them get to within one of London, and Guillame Boucard put them up by two in the fourth. London hardly seemed ruffled by the constant attacks from their opponents, though. Julian Boyd and Royce White lifted London when they needed it, and despite an impressive effort from Niagara, the Lightning chalk up another win.
For regular news and updates, and more on the NBL Canada and all this week's games, head to the official website.
