NBLC Recap: December 30th
Sunday saw two tight NBL Canada games featuring the league's biggest teams and where those who took to the court filled the stat sheets:
A three from Malcolm Duvivier was all that could separate the Halifax Hurricanes and the St. John’s Edge in an evenly-matched first half. Halifax built on that small momentum and went on to their biggest lead of the game, 11 points, in the third.
The Edge closed the gap behind their superior three-point shooting, but even though they brought the gap to two points on more than one occasion, a perfect fourth quarter show on offence from Mike Poole helped lift the Hurricanes to the 108-100 win.
Poole was the stand-out with a game-high 30 points, while Rhamel Brown finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Washington contributed 19 points off the bench. St. John’s, meanwhile, saw 21 points from Desmond Lee and two double-digit showings from bench players Glen Davis and Jared Nickens.
The London Lightning and Sudbury Five were tied at the end of two quarters, after which London started making better use of their scoring chances, and started to pull away.
Sudbury saw amazing performances from Cory Dixon, who led the team with 26 points and 16 total rebounds, and Georges Serresse, who had 18 points off the bench. London, meanwhile, played the better team game, seeing 52 points from their bench and an outstanding show on defence from Marvin Phillips.
London took their biggest lead of the game in the fourth, before eight unanswered points and a three from Devin Gilligan tied the scores. London responded immediately and went in front by a nose, after which Gilligan missed a last-second attempt to win the game. London handed Sudbury their third straight loss, winning 105-103.
