Francis Basket Lifts Mill Rats 102-100
January 20, 2012 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Saint John Riptide News Release
(Saint John, NB): The Saint John Mill Rats were victorious on Friday evening after Kevin Francis' driving shot with 1.5 seconds remaining, lifted the Mill Rats over the Quebec Kebs, with a final score of 102-100. Regardless of the storm that took place earlier in Saint John, attendance at Harbour Station was 2,102.
The Mill Rats changed their pace this game and took the lead from the beginning ending the first quarter with a 26-24 lead.
The second quarter proved to be a tough one, as the Mill Rats lost their lead falling to 48-55. This was the only quarter they were outscored by the Kebs, 31-22. A technical foul was called on Quebec Kebs Ricky Volcy with 3:53 remaining before the half.
Saint John opened up the second half but battled back and forth with Quebec. The Kebs held the lead for most of the third quarter but with just over four minutes left in the third, PJ's finish on Bluford's missed layup, tied the game 67-67. The Kebs were still able to hold the lead, closing the third, 73-77.
The Mill Rats were close on the heels of Quebec, finally picking up the momentum they needed in the fourth quarter with 3:53 on the clock. They crowd went wild as the team tied the game 98-98.
With 58.5 seconds left, Darren Duncan got to the line, sinking 2 for 2, nabbing a lead for Mill Rats 100-98. The Kebs were able to answer back with a basket, but it was the final basket from the Mill Rats with 1.5 seconds on the clock, that resulted in their victory.
When asked what the focus was on practice this week, Coach Jackson responded, "It's a good team win - a total team effort. It's been a tough week for the guys coming off those losses. We had a lot of time at practice to work on it, work on ourselves and build some sort of unity. We were able to establish a level of trust on this team. That was the theme for practice this week. I've been on these guys - sometimes they don't like it but it's been one of those weeks. I'm glad the guys were able to respond and show a level of care and commitment out there."
Game high scorer Darren Duncan commented, "Last game, we just wanted to come out and play hard, give 48 minutes of effort and let the chips fall where they may. All week in practice, we've been focusing on defence and helping each other on rotations. Today it showed".
Leading scorers for the Mill Rats were Darren Duncan with 24 and Antonio Burks with 18. Duncan also added 14 assists. Kevin Francis added 14 points, while PJ Young had 13. Quebec was led by Jermaine Blackburn with 18, Royce Parran with 16 and Cedric Moodie with 14.
Saint John rises to 10-13 on the season while the Kebs fall to 17-9.
The Mill Rats host Moncton Miracles on Sunday January 22nd for Rogers Game Day. Game time is set for 2pm - don't miss the action! Rogers TV will be giving away a 42" brand name TV!
Support the initiative to bring Porter Airlines to Saint John!
Mill Rats single game and flex tickets are now on sale at the Harbour Station box office 657-1234 or the Mill Rats office 214-4454.
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from January 20, 2012
- Oshawa Power Lose 129-121 to Summerside Storm - Mississauga Power
- Francis Basket Lifts Mill Rats 102-100 - Saint John Riptide
- Power Outage Plus Tons of Giving in Summerside - Summerside Storm
- Rainmen Can't Handle Lightning - London Lightning
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