NBL Canada This Week: March 27th - April 2nd
- Apr 4, 2018
- 7 min read
It was the final week of the 2017/18 NBL Canada regular season, and even though the playoff teams had been decided, there was still a lot to play for in the remaining games, such as seedings, division champions and pride - for some the most important thing of all.
Tuesday began with a back-and-forth first half between in the Scotiabank Centre between the Halifax Hurricanes and Moncton Magic. Halifax had the early advantage from their success in the low post, but Moncton took the lead just before half time. In the second half Corey Allmond kept fending off the Hurricanes with his three-point shooting on his way to a game-high 34 points. A late nine point run from Antoine Mason would not be enough to win it for Halifax, who fell to Moncton 107-95. Meanwhile, the Island Storm got the first points on the board against the Saint John Riptide, but the Riptide took the lead with just under four minutes played and did not let it go. With superior play in the field, Saint John led by ten points at half time and then went rampant in the fourth quarter to finish 95-81 ahead. Kemy Osse had a game-high 28 points for the Storm in the loss.
Already eliminated, the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans were looking to take a big scalp as they met up with the London Lightning. They looked good early on, leading by ten towards the end of the first quarter. London shrugged off this early setback with successful play in the field, 11 three-pointers and a great showing from their bench, who put up 50 points in the contest. They re-took the lead in the second quarter and led to the end of a tightly contested game, winning by five. Anthony Myles had an amazing game with 41 points and 18 rebounds for the Titans while Garrett Williamson had the last 12 of his team-leading 25 in the final quarter, becoming the first Canadian player to score 2000 NBLC career points.
London got their second win in a row the next night against the Windsor Express. Shaquille Keith duelled with Royce White of the Lightning, and while Keith managed a highly respectable 21 points, White was the standout with 31 points and 10 total rebounds. Ryan Anderson made a jumper to give the Lightning a two-point lead at half-time, and in the second half they went rampant. They put the game to bed with 39 points in the fourth quarter, winning the game by 15 and also first place in the Central Division. Windsor’s slump continued the next day against the Niagara River Lions. Niagara led by eleven early on behind their front court trio of Devonta Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Jaylon Tate. Windsor slowly clawed their way back into the game, tying the scores mid-way through the fourth. Three-pointers from Connor Wood and Kris Joseph buoyed Niagara down the stretch, and with Windsor giving away too many fouls, the River Lions saw out the win, 105-93.
Thursday night saw Halifax led from start to finish against the Storm. Kemy Osse had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Storm, but the Hurricanes dominated proceedings so much they benched their starters for almost the entire fourth quarter, leaving the reserves to see out the 118-92 win for the Hurricanes. The next night, the Storm had the early lead against the Cape Breton Highlanders, who soon took an eleven-point lead before halftime thanks to good scoring shows from Malik Story and Bruce Massey Jr - who, along with Chris Braswell, had double-doubles. The Storm went up by one late in the third, Cape Breton responded, re-taking the lead with an eight-point run and held their nerve and continued to play well in the paint to the end. Franklin Session had 25 points and 17 rebounds, one of three Storm players to score twenty-plus points in the loss.
Over three days, the Moncton Magic and Saint John Riptide met up twice. The first time, Saint John had the slim advantage much of the way, while Moncton took their biggest lead of the game in the second half. Making big strides for Moncton in this game were Corey Allmond with a game-high 22 points, and Juan Pattillo had 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Riptide went five up early in the fourth quarter, then a ten-point unbeaten run put Moncton back on top. The Riptide levelled the scores two jump shots from Aly Ahmed and three-pointers from Jeremiah Mordi and Horace Wormley - who had a double-double 17 points, 11 rebounds - put the result beyond doubt. Marvell Waithe made a consolatory basket at the death for Moncton who lost a close one by six points.
The next time the teams met was on Saturday, where the Magic had a blowout win at the Moncton Coliseum. Saint John closed the gap midway through the game, but Moncton's ability to put together unbroken scoring streaks and aided by 24 points from Terry Thomas and 45 from the bench, they breezed to a comfortable eleven-point win.
It was Saturday night in the Meridian Centre. The St. John’s Edge led at the end of a close first quarter, but the Niagara River Lions proved to be hard-going opponents for them throughout the contest. After momentarily having the lead, the Lions’ Adam Klie tied the scores at 98 with seven minutes to go. Alex Johnson responded for the Edge with a jump shot, and the team put the result beyond doubt with 25 more points in the remaining time. Carl English led all scorers with 38 points for St. John's, who won the contest 125-115.
Having won over the Storm less than 24 hours earlier, the Cape Breton looked to continue their win streak against Halifax, and before half time they led by eight points. It was a low-scoring, defensively-minded game and it wasn’t until the second half when the Hurricanes found their rhythm. With two runs of eight points in the third quarter, Halifax went eighteen points clear, then later on eight points in a row from Malik Story put the Highlanders back into the lead by one. Ta’quan Zimmerman hit a three to put Halifax back into the lead, and Billy White saw out the win for the Hurricanes with the last of his 16 points and 17 rebounds off the bench, as Halifax closed out the last game of their regular season with a four-point win over Cape Breton.
Meanwhile in Kitchener, the Titans got the best start against the visiting Express, but it didn't take long for Windsor to put themselves in the lead. The Express had their biggest lead of the game, nine points, shortly after the start of the second quarter, but the Titans did well to find open looks in the field to level the scoreline and then take the lead moments after the start of the second half. Maurice Jones had an incredible 50 points in the game for Windsor, which included making seven of the team's total fifteen three-pointers. Windsor tried to keep it tight, but more of their shot attempts falling short opened the door for the Titans to run away with it, leading by double-digits throughout the final quarter. The Kitchener-Waterloo Titans end their season in style with an excellent ten-point win over the Windsor Express.
Malik Story opened the Cape Breton Highlanders' sunday night game against the Riptide with a three-pointer and the team followed suit. They had a big early lead, until a dunk from Brian Addison put Saint John up by one at the first quarter buzzer. The Riptide were not prepared to relinquish that lead, and kept getting shots to drop with their high-percentage, close-range play which ensured they led right to the end. Bruce Massey Jr ends his season with a double-double, 29 points and 14 rebounds, but Cape Breton fell to the Saint John Riptide by 116 points to 101.
The Island Storm's regular season ended at the Gardens, where they were dominated by the London Lightning throughout three quarters. Though London led by 13 at the start of the final period, their inability to contain Carl Hall saw their lead vanish with three minutes left in the game. Hall was the standout here with 34 points and 14 rebounds.
Brad States then gave the Storm a two-point lead, only for a Ryan Anderson three to put London back up by one. The teams exchanged baskets down the stretch, and the scores were tied at 132 in the final minute. Unfortunately for the Storm, the Lightning players they fouled kept hitting from the free-throw line, which saw them go up by six, and a final layup from Garrett Williamson put London's lead at six and the game out of reach for the Storm. Williamson and Anderson both finished with 25 points, going a long way to help London finish their regular season in the win column with a hard-won four-point victory over the Storm.
The last game of the regular season was a close encounter between the Niagara River Lions and the St. John’s Edge at the Mile One Centre. With only two points separating the teams after ten minutes, the Edge took their foot off the gas just before half time, allowing Niagara to go ten points clear. St. John’s re-found their form and tried to mount a comeback, with a lot of help from their bench players. With continued success from Niagara in the field, however, there was no way back for the Edge. Guillaume Boucard led all scorers with 20 points for the River Lions, who bow out with an eleven-point win.
At the end of all that, this year's playoff bracket are finally set, and are as follows:
Atlantic Division
Halifax Hurricanes (1) vs Island Storm (4)
Moncton Magic (2) vs Saint John Riptide (3)
Central Division
St. John's Edge (2) vs Windsor Express (3)
London Lightning (1) vs Niagara River Lions (4)
Halifax and Island Storm tip off this year's championship round on April 5th, beginning what will be a non-stop battle for the National Basketball League of Canada title. Check back here for regular reports, and for the latest news and updates visit the NBLC official website.
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