NBLC Recap: January 4th
The second NBL Canada game day in a row where all eight teams were in action on what proved to be an eventful Saturday night where the top scorers kept pouring in the points.
St. John's Edge vs Island Storm
One point separated the Edge and the Storm at the end of a precarious first half, and when the game resumed Nathaniel Wright helped give the Storm the late advantage
In the fourth, though, their offence completely dried up, and the Edge capitalised. The only winless team in the league finally get out of the loss column with a 118-110 result in their favour.
Ryan Richardson had 19 points, as did Junior Cadougan, while Karrington Ward had 12 points and 16 rebounds while Cane Broome posted 20 off the bench. Alex Campbell led all with 24 points, while Johnathan Lloyd had 22 for the Island Storm in the loss.
Halifax Hurricanes vs Moncton Magic
For three quarters it was hard to set apart the Hurricanes and the Magic, both sticking to their offensive strengths in this low-scoring affair, until late in the game when Maurice Jones led the charge off the bench to see off Halifax by a final score of 96-84.
Jones finished with 18 points, behind Jeremiah Mordi who had 19 for Moncton, while a game-high 23 points from Antoine Mason was small consolation for Halifax, who lost their third game in a row to the unbeaten Magic.
KW Titans vs London Lightning
Behind another star-making performance from Damon Lynn (He finished with 22 points) early on, the Titans led the Lightning by 13 points. The game hung in the balance until the fourth quarter, when London’s big three in this game – Xavier Moon, AJ Gaines, Mareik Isom – exploded on offence.
Moon totalled an amazing 39 points, which, added to the final tally of 27 for Gaines and 21 for Isom, saw the Lightning overcome the Titans by a final score of 113-97.
Sudbury Five vs Windsor Express
Behind an early surge from Marlon Johnson, Sudbury had an early double-digit lead over Windsor, who then upped their percentage play and defence, which saw them go into the lead late in the game.
JR Holder helped close the gap for Sudbury, who were then put back in front by Dexter Williams, and the team were able to keep their lead by slowing the game down, drawing fouls and hitting from the free-throw line.
Chris Jones led with 26 points and 11 assist for Windsor, while Sam Muldrow had 22 in the loss. Meanwhile Sudbury saw 21 points from Jaylen Bland, double-doubles from Marlon Johnson and Dexter Williams and a team-high 25 points off the bench from Holder as they move off the foot of the Central Division with their second straight win, 120-116.
