Make It Eight Straight as Bolts Defeat Five
March 3, 2023 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
London Lightning News Release
(Sudbury, ON) - The London Lightning tightened their grip on the first overall seed Thursday night after heading to Sudbury and defeating the Five, 105-89. The Lightning improves to a league-best 12-2 on the season while Sudbury remains in second place with a 10-4 record.
The Lightning got Mareik Isom back for Thursday night's game but was still undermanned as both Elijah Lufile (personal) and Jeremiah Mordi (National Team Duty) were absent from the lineup. With just a one-game advantage on the red-hot Sudbury Five, winners of six straight, London put their own seven-game win streak on the line.
London would play one of their best all-around games of the season in what Coach Plumb would later describe as the most important game of their season so far. As a team, London shot nearly 51% from the field and make the most threes in a game this season with 16, on an improved 38% shooting. As a team, they took care of the ball limiting turnovers and defensively making life difficult for the Five's offence. Sudbury leads the league with an impressive 112.6 points per game but has failed to reach 100 or more points in three of their four matchups this season.
London and Sudbury would take turns outscoring the other team each quarter as the Lightning outscored Sudbury 30-21 in the first quarter and 36-21 in the third while Sudbury outscored London 28-27 in the second and 19-12 in the fourth. With the London lead reaching 23 points heading into the fourth, Coach Plumb would play his bench-heavy minutes in the fourth before cruising to a comfortable 16-point victory despite only scoring 12 in the fourth.
Terry Thomas Jr. returned to form scoring a season-high 31 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds. Canadian guard, Marcus Ottey, added 16 points off the bench while Jordan Burns put in a great all-around game with 13 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Cameron Lard (14 points) and Mareik Isom (12 points) rounded out the scoring for the Bolts.
The Five got 28 points out of Jeremy Harris on the night. Despite shooting 9-22 from the field and 3-10 from deep, the league's top scorer also added 7 rebounds. Coming off Player of the Week Honours, big man JD Miller added 21 points of his own on 7-21 shooting from the field, including 1-8 from beyond the arc. AJ Mosby Jr added 13 points while Dexter Williams Jr added 10 in the loss.
The Lightning's month-long road trip continues as they return to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to take on the Titans for the first time since hoisting the NBL Canada Trophy there last season.
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National Basketball League of Canada Stories from March 3, 2023
- Make It Eight Straight as Bolts Defeat Five - London Lightning
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