NBLC Finals 2019 - Game 1
The Avenir Centre, home of the Moncton Magic, played host to the first game of the 2019 NBL Canada finals. Both the Magic and the visiting St. John's Edge came into this game keen to get off to the best start in what will be a hard-fought title-deciding series.
After a basket-for-basket start to the game, the Magic took a commanding lead after eight unanswered points. The Edge then dominated possession, closing the gap to one, leading to a second quarter which saw eight lead changes.
With the scores tied in the last two minutes, the Magic ended the quarter with a six-point run to finish the half 40-34 ahead.
The game followed the same pattern when it resumed: closely fought, with the Edge overturning the Magic’s advantage every time the went in front. Lifting them the most was Jarryn Skeete, who put on a good scoring show, finishing with 16 points as well as nine total rebounds.
Meanwhile, doing the most damage for the Magic was Trey Kell, who ended the game as the Magic's top scorer with 29 points, while his team mate Billy White contributed 20.
After the Magic went eight points clear soon after the fourth got underway, Murphy Burnatowski responded for the Edge with eight unanswered points, which tied the scores. Jared Nickens assisted Burnatowski - who finished as the game’s top scorer with 30 points - in giving the Edge a seven-point lead mid-way through the period.
Moncton started to close the gap from the field, while the Edge tried to stay afloat finding scoring chances from close range. Marcus Lewis made it a one-point game, after which the Magic began a ten-point scoring run that saw them close out the game on top.
Moncton draw first blood in the series, beating the Edge 103-94. When the finals resume on May 11th, will the home court advantage work for them once again?
