Mill Rats Overcome Two Storms for Road Rally
February 11, 2016 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Saint John Riptide News Release
Saint John Mill Rats Forward Gabe Freeman Drives to the Basket against the Island Storm
(Saint John Riptide)
(Charlottetown, PEI): The Saint John Mill Rats overcame two 'Storms' in the course of one day as they rallied big time on the road for a 107-104 win over the Island Storm.
The literal 'storm' was the snow that was dumped on Atlantic Canada, and which caused the Mill Rats bus to arrive an hour late to Eastlink Arena in Charlottetown. The bus had been stuck behind plows for much of the one lane leg of the drive to the Island.
"We only had about 40 minutes to dress and warm up tonight, but hey this happened earlier this season against Halifax and we won, so I told Ian (Mill Rats General Manager Ian McCarthy) maybe we'll have to arrive late to all our games," joked Mill Rats Head Coach Rob Spon. "But on a serious note I give credit to our players who didn't quit when we got down big, they just kept clawing and fighting back and the veterans made plays at the end."
The opening of the game was reminiscent of the Mill Rats last trip to Eastlink Arena when the Mill Rats found themselves down big right out of the gate, and ultimately lost 108-88.
In this game they found themselves down 8-1 to start the game, but fought back to a 13-14 score. A Brent Jennings three pointer to close the quarter regained a 26-19 lead for the Island Storm.
In the second quarter, things started to go awry. A basket by Brian Addison made the score 48-30 in the favour of the hosts with 5:30 left in the half. Doug Herring Jr drilled a three pointer at the halftime buzzer to keep Saint John within striking distance, at 60-50.
The Mill Rats erased most of that deficit by winning the third quarter by nine and trailed just 84-83 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Storm led 99-95 with 5:40 left in the game when Gabe Freeman was fouled shooting a three pointer. Freeman made all three free throws to make it 99-98. Freeman then found Ricky Volcy open who scored to give Saint John at 100-99 lead. Freeman stayed in the act with a steal and fast break layup for the 102-99 lead.
After Brent Jennings nailed a three pointer to tie the game, Freeman was fouled again and hit one of two for a 103-102 lead with 1:30 left.
Nick Evans committed an offensive foul and Doug Herring Jr found Stover open for a 105-102 lead. After a timeout by the Storm, Evans scored down low to cut it to 105-104 with 41 seconds left.
Herring missed a jumper and when Thomas missed a three pointer for the Storm, it was Freeman who hauled down the rebound and was fouled. He made both with 3 seconds left to ice the game 107-104.
Saint John had started the game shooting 9-29 from the field, but settled down and was 28-59 the rest of the way.
Freeman scored 30 points and hauled down 10 boards, Anderson scored 20 points with 9 assists, Herring 17 points, and Anthony Stover with 9 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Brent Jennings led PEI with 21.
Saint John improves to 11-6 while the Island Storm drops to 6-12.
The Mill Rats finished 4-1 on their recent five-game road trip and now look forward to returning home on Thursday February 18th against the Orangeville A's.
Single game, flex, and prorated season tickets are on sale at the Harbour Station Box Office or by calling 506-657-1234 or by visiting www.harbourstation.ca.
Images from this story
 Saint John Mill Rats Forward Gabe Freeman Drives to the Basket against the Island Storm |
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National Basketball League of Canada Stories from February 11, 2016
- A's Fall to the Express on the Road, 99-95 - Orangeville A's
- Mill Rats Overcome Two Storms for Road Rally - Saint John Riptide
- Lightning Tame River Lions - London Lightning
- A's Heading East for 6-Game Road Trip - Orangeville A's
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