NBLC Daily: November 6th
The Moncton Magic played host to the Cape Breton Highlanders at Crandall University in the first of their NBL Canada pre-season games.
Cape Breton got off to the best start, scoring consistently from the field to lead by 31 points to 15 after the first quarter alone. The Highlanders saw the best individual numbers from Bruce Massey Jr (24 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds) and 20 points from Jamaal Reynolds off the bench.
Moncton changed their game plan in the second half, which saw them start to cut down their fifteen-point half-time deficit. Eleven points from Nick Evans in the final quarter helped narrow the gap even more, and the Magic took a two-point lead down the stretch. Reynolds then put Cape Breton up by two, a final layup from Evans tied the scores at 83, and overtime was needed.
The Magic took an early lead in OT, but the Highlanders’ short-range effectiveness continued, the team unwilling to let the game get away from them. Moncton reasserted their lead with four unanswered points from Doug Herring Jr, who finished with 15, and a final three-pointer from Gentrey Thomas sealed the win for Moncton.
Moncton saw 54 points from their bench players, with rookie Thomas leading the team with 17 points for the Magic, who completed a great comeback to win 95 points to 90.
