Mill Rats Fall One Point Short in First Playoff Game
Published on March 6, 2012 under National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Saint John Riptide News Release
(Saint John, NB): The Saint John Mill Rats fell one point short in their first ever playoff game to the #1ranked London Lightning on Tuesday night at Harbour Station in front of 2,117 supportive fans with a final score of 106-105.
DeAnthony Bowden from the London Lightning came out strong netting the first 5 points for the Lightning. Kevin Francis sunk the first basket for the Mill Rats and after 5 minutes into the 1st quarter, 2 great plays from Jermaine Blackburn and Anthony Anderson put the Mill Rats ahead 7-11. With 6:35 on the clock, London's Head Coach Michael Ray Richardson called a timeout to get their lead back.
The timeout didn't stop the threes that ensued from Mill Rats' Darren Duncan and Anthony Anderson that put the Mill Rats ahead 11-20. Michael Ray called another time out but the Lightning were not able to pull ahead of the Mill Rats. The first quarter closed with the Mill rats leading 17-23.
With 9 minutes left before half, the Mill Rats jumped to a 10 point lead over the Lightning, 22-32. The Mill Rats were able to hold their lead for the rest of the second quarter and closed the half 49-53.
Leading scorer of the game Anthony Anderson played a huge third quarter netting 15 points and 3 assists, while Darren Duncan added some solid plays adding 8 points. The Mill Rats closed the third quarter leading 83-88 over the Lightning.
With 8:49 left in the game, the Lightning pulled ahead to tie the game, 90-90. With 5:58 on the clock, they were able to pull ahead by 5 points which eventually secured their lead, 96-91. With just over 3 and a half minutes remaining, the Mill Rats were able to steal the ball but Blackburn was unsuccessful in sinking the basket.
With 1:52 on the clock, Lightning's Rodney Buford fouled Anthony Anderson which put him on the line sinking 2 for 2. With the help of a basket from Blackburn, the Mill Rats closed the gap to 104-101 with under 2 minutes remaining.
Tension was high as the Lightning controlled the ball and Bowden ran the clock down, eventually passing the ball to Rodney Buford before the shot clock ran out was able to net 2 points. With 15.6 seconds on the clock, the Lightning held a 3 point lead 106-103. With 4 seconds left in the game, Duncan drove to the basket for a layup which was tipped back in by Blackburn. The Mill Rats fell one point short. When asked what the team needs to work on to defeat the Lightning, Coach Jackson replied, "We need to take care of the boards a little bit more. They hit some big shots. Their bench players hit some big shots. That's something that we have to do when we go out to London. We are a pretty good offensive team but we need to get the rebound, which is a challenge because they are a great rebounding team. All the things on the defensive end, we can clean up. All in all, I was proud of the guys. Sorry we didn't get a win but it was close. Hopefully we can come back here for another playoff game in another week or two. We have a good team - we still have an excellent opportunity once we get out there."
Anthony Anderson came away from the game with a double double, netting 26 points and 12 assists. Anderson was also 6 for 7 from the three point line. Blackburn contributed 22 points, while Duncan added 21.
Leading scorers for the London Lightning were Shamari Spears and Gabe Freeman with 18 each and Rodney Buford with 13, who only played for 12 minutes.
The Saint John Mill Rats travel to London this Friday to take on the Lightning for game 2 in their playoff battle. Catch the live stream via the London Lightning website. Game time 7pm EST.
If necessary, game 3 will be played in London on Sunday, March 11th at 2pm EST.
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from March 6, 2012
- Mill Rats Fall One Point Short in First Playoff Game - Saint John Riptide
- Lightning Win First NBL Canada Play-Off Game - London Lightning
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