NBLC Recap: December 23rd
There were tree games this Sunday in the NBL Canada, and never a dull moment in any of them:
The visiting Saint John Riptide met up with the Cape Breton Highlanders in one of the tightest games of the season so far, where no more than five points separated the two teams. Saint John saw the best numbers from Frank Bartley, who had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Bruce Massey had 25 points and 8 rebounds for Cape Breton, who also saw 35 points and 29 rebounds from their bench.
Smart defence down the stretch from Cape Breton saw them draw enough of fouls, as well as hitting from the free-throw line, to emerge victorious, 105-102. With their fourth straight win in a row, Cape Breton move up to second place in the Atlantic Division.
The Windsor Express opened the game with 16 unanswered points and finished the opening quarter ahead 36-13. Their opponents, the Island Storm, tried to fight back in the second quarter, behind a team-high 25 points from Sampson Carter and 22 points and 9 rebounds from Russell Byrd. Elsewhere, though, it was a lacklustre show on offence from the visiting team.
42 points in the third led to Windsor taking their biggest lead of the game, at 33 points, and they coasted home to a comprehensive 118-90 victory. Juan Pattillo had 27 points and 9 rebounds for the Express, while Ryan Anderson and Angelo Griffis dropped ten of the team's 18 threes in a convincing win that snaps their losing streak.
Travelling to the Kitchener Auditorium, the Sudbury Five led the KW Titans by ten points early on, and finished the first quarter ahead 29-24. Sudbury had amazing production from their starters, all scoring in double digits. Two of them, Braylon Rayson and Adam Blazek, each put up a game-high 20 points, while Grandy Glaze and Cory Dixon were both one rebound short of a double-double.
In the second quarter, the Titans took a big lead after eleven unanswered points. Sudbury closed the gap in the third and took a one-point lead in the fourth, but it didn’t last long. Justin Strings and Greg Morrow were the sparks off the KW bench, both putting up 17 points, as did Akeem Ellis, while the team also saw 15 points and 11 rebounds from Derek Hall.
With a 124-113 win over Sudbury, the Titans move up to third in the Central Division.
