London Equal Their Own Record With Two Wild Wins
The London Lightning's start to the 2022 NBL Canada season has been an electrifying one - now it's in the history books.
The team which did not see defeat in its first nine games had two games over the week, each giving them a chance to extend their run or to lose it. The resulting fixtures turned out to be highly eventful, entertaining and unpredictable showcases for why they are the number one team in Canada right now.
On Thursday the Lightning welcomed the Sudbury Five to the Gardens for a tense and heated clash right from the outset. A point separated the teams at the end of opening period, courtesy of a late jump shot from Cameron Forte. Dexter Williams and Jeremy Harris responded from the field and put Sudbury in front, with Cameron Forte continuing to find open looks and keep the distance tight.
Harris' success continued when the game restarted and Sudbury were leading by eleven. Chris Jones took up the scoring mantle for London and led the team in preventing the gap getting any bigger. After a 10-3 run to end the third quarter, London went up by one. Sudbury began the final period outscoring the Lightning 11-2, at the end of which three lead changes followed and Sudbury stayed in front from the line.
London held their nerved and kept their cool down the stretch, playing Sudbury at their own fouling game, with a final layup from Jordan Jensen-Whyte putting the game to bed with the Lightning extending their win streak to ten, but only just.
A few days later they welcomes the Windsor Express in a game that had significance beyond London matching their win streak, the team also used the occasion to raise awareness to the charity Shine the Light on Women's Abuse.
After a 9-2 start for London, Billy White went into full Billy White Mode and Windsor surged in front. They remained so until a four-point play from Jaylon Tate put London up one at the end of an eventful opening quarter. When play resumed the Lightning dominated from the field and outscored the Express 38-17 in the second quarter, building a big lead which already seemed insurmountable, yet Windsor knew it was too early to throw in the towel.
With Lance Tejada almost perfect on offence in the third, also a productive quarter from Quinnel Brown, the Express were on the hunt but London kept interrupting their rhythm and maintaining their advantage. What they did not do was contain Brown, White or Devnote' Pratt, who all combined for 31 points in the fourth in effort to get Windsor the win by any means.
Windsor's three-point shooters kept cutting the gap down, with one from Tanner Struckman making it a two-point game with just under a minute-and-a-half to go. In response, Tate and Amir Williams increased London's lead only for a three from Brown to make it a single-possession game in the final seconds. Tate was on hand to add to the Lightning's score line, as was Williams who made what turned out to be the game-winner.
With this, London equal the NBL Canada winning streak record, set by themselves in the 2012-13 season. The two highlight games of the week showed the team's tenacity and ingenuity as well as how ending that streak will call for something special. All eyes will now be on them on March 31st when they have a chance to make history over the Albany Patroons by overtaking their own record.
Comments