Mill Rats Drop Playoff Opener
March 19, 2013 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Saint John Riptide News Release
(Moncton, NB): The Saint John Mill Rats, presented by Rogers, dropped their series opener against the Moncton Miracles 98-90 at the Moncton Coliseum.
The Miracles now lead the best of three series 1-0. Game Two will be at Harbour Station in Saint John on Friday night at 7:00 PM. If necessary, Game Three will be on Saturday at 7:00 PM, also at Harbour Station.
Saint John found themselves trailing by 12 in the first quarter before Mike Anderson's layup at the buzzer cut the Moncton lead to 29-19. The Mill Rats found their rhythm in the second quarter and closed the gap to 46-43.
Moncton came out of the half blazing on a 10-1 run and led by 12 again at 56-44. The Mill Rats rallied again to cut the deficit to 56-51, but the Miracles punched back and led 75-60 at the end of three.
Saint John once again made their run behind back-to-back threes from Antonio Burks and a three-point play the old fashioned way from Kenny Jones. They got as close as 92-86 late, but Moncton made enough free throws down the stretch to seal their first ever playoff win.
"Its hard to win when you find yourself playing from behind all game long," stated Mill Rats Head Coach David Cooper. "We've come back from every kind of deficit this season but we would obviously like to come out strong at our house on Friday night. We will definitely need everyone in Saint John to come out and support our team as we rally to try and win this series Friday and Saturday night!"
Kenny Jones led Saint John with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Antonio Burks had 15 and Jerice |Crouch 12. Devin Sweetney, the NBL Canada's leading scorer, put 32 on the board.
Single game playoffs ticket are on sale tomorrow at the Harbour Station Box Office, by calling 506-657-1234, or by logging onto www.harbourstation.ca. Season ticket packages are also on sale. Season ticket holders have until the end of the day on Wednesday March 20th to purchase their seats for the playoffs.
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from March 19, 2013
- Mill Rats Drop Playoff Opener - Saint John Riptide
- Miracles Win First Playoff Game against Mill Rats - Moncton Miracles
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