London Derails Ottawa's 3 Game Winning Streak Train
January 5, 2014 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Ottawa SkyHawks News Release
The SkyHawks had a pretty neutral start to the new year as they defeated Mississauga Power Saturday night (106-93) but gave up the game to the London Lightning the following Sunday (108-120).
Ottawa had a rough first quarter having been outscored more than double their final score going into second at 32-14. Seemed like something changed from their previous game the evening before where they led the whole game with a 38.46 field goal per cent compared to Sunday's 29.41 per cent in the beginning of second quarter. With this big deficit to start the game, the SkyHawks couldn't play enough catch-up even winning the next two quarters.
And just like that, the SkyHawks took it from an 18 point game to an 8 point game having outscored the Lightning in the second quarter by 10 points (28-18). Leading the SkyHawks in the second quarter was Stefan Welsh with 11 points meanwhile big man Jermaine Johnson lived up to his name by closing first half with 6 rebounds.
Winning the third quarter as well 30-29 and being down as much as 12 points, the SkyHawks fought hard to eat away at the Lightning's continuous lead and brought it to as low as a 3 point game but the Lightning'sÃâàroll could not be halted as they closed the third quarter up 5 points at 79-72.
Jermaine Johnson was the SkyHawks' secret weapon under the net as he put up 13 points going into the fourth. Additionally, Justin Tubbs worked his magic from downtown as he too put down 13 points going into the final quarter including two alley-oop dunks.
The Ottawa SkyHawks showed that having a bad start can ruin your game in the end as London sent Ottawa packing with a score of 120-108. Although having a solid second and third quarter where they outscored the Lightning, the SkyHawks just couldn't come back from that deficit gained in the first quarter.
The good news was Ottawa's latest addition, Stefan Welsh, had quite the hot pair of hands as he was the highest scoring player of both teams with a stunning 29 point game. Bumping their field goal percentage from second quarter up by 12 per cent from 29.41 to 41.7, it was clear Ottawa played well especially as the game progressed but that slow first quarter really hurt their score in the end."ÃÆ
When asked about Sunday's loss, head coach Jaren Jackson said "Tough loss coming off a night game... Stefan played well getting into a flow while Justin was consistent as always. I know our team can do it, we just have to figure out a way to beat this team."
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National Basketball League of Canada Stories from January 5, 2014
- Brampton A's Take 1st with a 16-6 Record - Orangeville A's
- Windsor Defends Home Court Again - Windsor Express
- London Derails Ottawa's 3 Game Winning Streak Train - Ottawa SkyHawks
- Power Head Home from Windsor with Loss - Mississauga Power
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