Recapping an Eventful Super League Weekend
A month into the first Basketball Super League season, results have come thick and fast and stories are starting to form and it looks like there are many more to come on the evidence of an eventful, five-game weekend.
It was not a happy start to their BSL tenure for the Tri-State Admirals, who in their debut scored just half of what the Montreal Toundra did in the first quarter alone. Montreal, led by Marcus Ottey with a team-high twenty points, sank the dagger in the final period, where they outscored the Admirals by fifteen.
Austin Mofunaya had 28 for the Admirals but it was not enough to avoid defeat in their debut. The next day it was deja vu and worse when they travelled to London, where the Lightning left them out in the dust, scoring thirty or more in every quarter.
Shadell Millinghaus led London with 25 points off the bench, with Jachai Taylor contributing 24 and Amir Yusuf as they blew out the Tri-State Admirals 134-98. London were in action the next night at the Gardens, where they hosted the Montreal Toundra, who came firing out of the blocks outscoring London in the paint, they went on to lead by as much as 22 points.
Billy White had 24 and 10 rebounds and 22 off the bench for Mike Nuga were not enough for London to break down the Toundra defence. Antoine Mason had fifteen for Montreal in the first half, 25 in total, with Dewrell Tisdale contributing 21 as the visitors from Montreal defeated the league leaders 110-98.
Sunday night saw the Sudbury Five hosts familiar foes the Windsor Express and they had the early advantage, sparked by AJ Mosby and Keljin Blevins. While Windsor kept closing the gap, Sudbury were able to keep themselves in front, but only just.
The home team stepped up their offence in the third quarter and reached a lead of twelve. It all looked decided but in the final phase of play Sudbury slackened on offence and the Express pounced; the combined offensive effort of Tyler Groce, Paul Harrison and Latin Davis completely turned things around.
Groce and Harrison both finished with double-doubles as they snap a two-game losing streak with a seven-point win over the Sudbury Five, who had some consolation in a game-high 38 from Mosby.
The Newfoundland Rogues have the league's leading scorer, Armani Chaney, who proved invaluable for the team as they hosted the KW Titans twice over the weekend. In the first game the Titans had an early lead but in the second quarter the Rogues caught fire form beyond the arc, which saw them go from trailing by six to ahead by seven at half time.
When they met again the following night the Titans had the best start, Curtis Hollins and Demetrius Barnes bursting out of the gate for the visitors from Ontario. The third quarter was a pivotal moment in this clash; there, led by Armani Chaney with 14 points in the third alone, the Rogues dealt the Titans a blow they never recovered from.
Turning a ten-point deficit into a double-digit lead, Chaney capped off a 34-point, 10-rebound performance, while Lewis Djonkam posted 18 off the bench, while all of KW's starting five finished in double digits in the five-point loss to Newfoundland.
These results now see the Rogues lead the league standing with a greater win percentage over the London Lightning. There is still a long way to go in the season and there are many more ways events can unfold. Check back here for more updates on the inaugural Super League season and find out more over on the official website.
