When Carl English Made NBL Canada History

On March 3rd 2018, 4,012 packed the stands at the Mile One Centre. None of them realised they were about to see more than their St. John's Edge take on the visiting KW Titans, they would be witnessing NBL Canada history.

After many years spent playing basketball in Europe, Carl English had returned to Canada to play for his hometown team, the St. John's Edge. In what would be his first of two seasons for the Edge he provided plenty of offensive firepower - scoring in double digits in all but one game in 2017-18 - and heavy defence. The highlight of his season, of his NBL Canada career, would come on this date, when his scoring would be the story of the night.

The league's single-game scoring record had been set in 2013 by Devin Sweetney, who netted 56 points for Moncton in a blowout win over the Montreal Jazz. Some had come close to that record, but none had been able to better it. English may not have gone into the game looking to break records, but when he started scoring, it seemed nothing was going to get him to stop.

English missed first shot of the game and the Edge left door open for Derek Hall to give the Titans a 6-2 lead after three and a half minutes. After that he put together a six-point run for St. John's, tying the scores, only for Hall and Greg Morrow to restore KW's lead, enlarged by threes from both Myles Anthony and Tramar Sutherland.

A three from the Edge's Russell Byrd made it a one-point game with the Titans still in the lead, which went back and forth by the same margin until Byrd, Xavier Ford and Alex Johnson combined to put the Edge up six at the end of the first quarter - with English's total already up to twelve.

He then opened the second quarter scoring with two three pointers, giving St. John's double digit lead before Dominic Phillips hit five in a row for the Titans, to which English responded with another three. Ransford Brempong picked up the scoring slack for the Titans in the face of a combined attack on their basket by Sutherland and Ed Horton, who cut the deficit down to three with three-and-a-half minutes before half-time.

A technical foul from Horton sent English to the free-throw line, where he added another point to his total, following it up with a layup a minute later. Myles Anthony made it a one-point game with a three-pointer and a free-throw from Phillips made tied the game. Five points from Byrd to end the half saw them go to the locker room 59-54.

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With twenty-four points already to his name, English began the third quarter with two threes and two free-throws, with another three giving St. John's a double-digit lead. Eight in a row from Phillips closed the gap to four points, at which point Desmond Lee broke the Edge's scoring drought.

An and-one layup and another three from English restored his team's double-digit advantage once more and more threes, this time from Johnson and Coron Williams saw the third come to an end with the Edge leading by fourteen - and with English adding 21 more points himself.

Coron Williams had five in a row at top of final quarter, followed by nine uninterrupted by English - at the end of which St. John's led by eighteen. Anthony, Hall and Morrow each kept finding open looks from close range, but the target for the Titans to turn the game around was now getting further and further away with time running out.

English broke a 10-0 scoring streak by KW with two from the line, bringing his scoring total to 56, matching Sweetney's record. Four missed attempts by him followed but then, with 1:39 on the clock, he was fouled by Morrow and went back to the line. This time he did not falter, sinking both shots to take his total to 58, the most ever scored in a single game by an NBLC player, two days shy of the day when Sweetney set what seemed an unassailable marker - English met and outdid it.

With that he went to the bench and did not return, but he didn't need to, he had already done enough. The rest of the Edge squad were able to see out the win, with the final score standing at 127-117. The Titans outscored St. John's from the field and had seven players finish in double-digits, with Myles Anthony leading with 28 and Derek Hall recording a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds, but English outdid them all and everyone else on the floor that night.

News of Engilsh's historic night reverberated around the country and the Canadian basketball scene. He continued putting up big numbers for the Edge for their rest of their season run, which ended in the Central Division finals where they lost to eventual champions London Lightning. Sad for St. John's, but English would then scoop up an array of awards, including MVP.

He would retire from basketball the following year, after which he briefly served as general manager of the Edge. While he no longer has any involvement with the team, he has left a lasting legacy with St. John's basketball and their NBLC franchise, with his 58-point performance being one of his defining achievements.