NBLC Recap: January 3rd
Everything that happened in an action-packed three-game Thursday in the NBL Canada:
The visiting Moncton Magic had great showings from their starters, who all scored ten-plus points. Meanwhile, their rivals and hosts London Lightning saw better production from their bench, who put up 62 points in the game.
Duke Mondy led all scorers with 20 points, while both teams saw double-doubles - 18 points and 13 rebounds from Moncton’s Denzell Taylor, while Mo Bolden had 18 points and 10 boards for London.
Moncton lead most often in a game that was evenly matched and back-and-forth throughout, with plenty of lead changes, at the end of which overtime was needed to separate the two. In OT, Alex Johnson made some decisive plays which gave the Lightning the edge they needed to see out the win by 109 points to 107.
Sharing the ball well early on, the Saint John Riptide had the lead over the St. John’s Edge in the first half. When the game resumed, though, Desmond Lee’s near-perfect shooting performance helped put the Edge in the driver's seat.
Chris Early and Jeremiah Mordi did all the could to stop the game getting away from the Riptide, but the Edge proved too hard to close out in the paint. Lee led all scorers with 25 points, followed by Junior Cadougan with 24, and Glen Davis scored his first NBLC double-double, 12 points and rebounds, as they reaffirm their place at the top of the Central Division with a 100-93 win over the Riptide.
Even with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists from Russell Byrd, and 23 points off the bench from Robbie Robinson, the Island Storm could not keep up with the Cape Breton Highlanders. A big scoring effort from Cape Breton saw four of their five starters score in double digits - one of which, Kenny Jones, also grabbing nine rebounds to go with his 28 points.
Top performer of the night, though, was Jamal Reynolds, who had 32 points and 15 total rebounds. He was a big factor in Cape Breton handing the Storm their eighth loss in a row, and at the same time snapping their own losing skid with a 128-117 victory.
