NBLC Highlight Games: Halifax vs Moncton, February 23rd
The Moncton Magic were looking to keep hold of their record, the best in the NBL Canada, while the visiting Halifax Hurricanes were in the midst of what had so far been an uneven season and looking to pick themselves up. This night was all about one man, though. Those in attendance at the Avenir Centre were about to see an unforgettable performance by Magic power forward Billy White.
He opened the scoring for the hosts, but the Hurricanes responded and put themselves up by three points soon after. White responded with a dunk and three-pointer, which saw the rest of the team following suit and Moncton gave themselves a 30-22 lead to end the first quarter. Finishing the period with seven unanswered, White had so far amassed seventeen points in the game, but was far from done.
His teammates, meanwhile, were also doing their bit on the night. Jason Calliste had given Moncton a double-digit lead when play resumed, which later stood at twenty points courtesy of Wayne McCullough.
The second and third periods were comparatively quiet for White, but when CJ Washington looked to close the gap on his own for Halifax in the second half, the Magic's main man responded with eight points in a row. The Hurricanes were still playing catch up while McCullough, Calliste and Denzell Taylor picked up the scoring slack for Moncton in the third, putting them up by fourteen.
White had one of the five successive three-pointers that Moncton began the fourth quarter with, which saw Joel Kindred step up and deliver from outside for the Hurricanes, bringing the gap down to fifteen. White then had six in a row for the Magic and then eight more down the final stretch, the last of which brought his total to 52.
Jeremiah Mordi had the last points of the game, making the final score 136-104 to the Magic, but the cheers in the arena that night were all for Billy White, having completed the highest scoring individual showing in the 2019-20 NBL Canada season.
Three Halifax players finished with twenty-plus points and Jeremiah Mordi recorded a triple double - 13 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds - but White eclipsed everyone on the court that night. Unstoppable offence and never letting up on form had earned him the fourth-highest solo score in league history as well as a lasting place in the memory of all who witnessed it.
