Looking Back to Dominic Shuler's Island Storm Block Party
Sometimes big things can come in unexpected packages, and during the 2018-19 NBL Canada season, that was true for the Island Storm. It was the year when Alex Campbell had his breakthrough and went on to become an elite player and Robbie Robinson made his long-awaited and much-welcomed professional debut, both for the team.
Throughout the 2018-19 season the Storm saw plenty of production from their rotation players as well as their star names such as Guillaume Boucard, Sampson Carter and Russell Byrd. Among their supporting cast, Dominic Shuler may not have topped the score sheets every time, but on January 11th of that season he had a performance which put his name in the franchise's history books.
It had been a hard start to the season for the Storm: ahead of their game on January 11th they were on a ten-game losing streak and were to face the Moncton Magic, who were on far better form coming into this road match-up. Many were predicting an easy one for the Magic, but from the beginning the game followed no one's expectations.
The Storm opened with two threes and layup from Sampson Carter, giving them an early 8-2 lead, before Duke Mondy and Wayne McCullough closed the gap to two. Shuler himself kept the lead with the Storm, scoring from the free throw line and making his first block, denying Denzel Taylor on the other end.
Robbie Robinson picked up the scoring slack and gave the Storm a double-digit advantage. Gentrey Thomas and Joel Ndondo made the last shots of the quarter, making the scoreline 31-23 to the Storm after ten minutes.
The Storm regained their double-digit lead shortly after the second quarter started, Shuler contributing blocking Taylor once again. He also went on to score eight points and grab five defensive rebounds in the period. Elsewhere Robinson, Tyler Scott and Guilliaume Boucard combined to increase the gap even further between the two teams.
The Magic made only three of their 21 field goal attempts in the second quarter and were trailing by 19 points at the half-time buzzer. McCullough and Corey Allmond tried to start them on the comeback trail when play resumed. However the team continued to falter on offence while Shuler and Boucard kept the momentum with the Storm, continuing their successes on both ends.
Late in the third Shuler denied McCullough, Ndondo and Thomas within three minutes, helping to maintain the Storm's lead which reached 26 late in the period. Corey Allmond sank a three to end the third-quarter scoring, but Moncton were still left with a mountain to climb.
Still, they rose to the challenge, scoring sixteen points in the first 3:30 of the fourth quarter, but Carter and Robinson were able to maintain the Storm's healthy double-digit lead. Shuler re-entered the game midway through the fourth and within thirty seconds made his sixth block of the game, denying Jason Calliste in the field.
He then made a layup off his own rebound and, with one minute and thirty-eight seconds on the clock, swatted away a shot attempt from McCullough on Moncton's offensive end, writing himself into the Storm's record books with seven blocks made in a single game. The Storm dominated proceedings to the final buzzer, at which they were victorious 108-91.
In addition to his seven blocks, Shuler posted 12 in both points and total rebounds off the bench in what was a career performance from the then-NBLC newcomer from South Carolina. Carter also managed a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) while Boucard finished with 18 points off the bench as the Storm snapped their losing streak with a 108-91 win over Moncton. The game in its entirety can be seen here:
