NBLC Recap: February 18th
Monday night basketball in the NBL Canada, with three very different games on the slate.
Though they fell behind early to the Saint John Riptide, the Island Storm kept it a close game - either cutting the gap to a single point or taking a narrow lead. That was until the third quarter when the Riptide took their first double-digit lead of the game, and in the fourth they maintained their lead from the field - led by TJ Maston, who had the last eleven of his total 23 points.
All of the Island Storm’s starters finishing in double digits, led by Terrell Carter with 20, while Frank Bartley's contribution of 28 points helped the Riptide see out the win 100-95 over the Storm, who have now lost nine of their last ten games.
Every time the Moncton Magic went into the lead at the Scotiabank Centre, the Halifax Hurricanes hit back with a sudden burst of energy, and their superior close-range shooting saw them in control of proceedings on their home court.
The Magic’s Trey Kell led all scorers with 24 points, but with Halifax seeing 23 and 9 rebounds off the bench from Jordan Washington, they stayed the course and finished as winners by 100 points to 91. This win sees them move up to second place in the Atlantic Division - with section leaders Moncton next in their sights.
After an unpredictable, back-and-forth start to the game, the Sudbury Five then had to come back from the KW Titans’ 14-point third quarter lead. Adding to their scoreline were six Sudbury players who went into double digits, with Braylon Rayson leading with 19 while Yohanny Dalembert grabbed 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points.
After plenty of pushing and probing, Sudbury finally went in front late in the forth. The Titans’ top scorer Ed Horton - who finished with 30 - twice in the last minute levelled the scores with a three. In the last ten seconds Travis Releford drew the foul from Akeem Ellis and hit two from the line, after which Horton put up one last three - this time, though, it fell short.
The celebrations were Sudbury's as they score the dramatic victory by a final tally of 106-104 over the KW Titans.
Picture: John Lappa
