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Orangeville Gets Win in Windsor, Defeat Express 97-92

February 2, 2017 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Orangeville A's News Release


WINDSOR, ON - Every time the Orangeville A's meet up with the Windsor Express, you can bet that the players will be leaving the stadium with a few new bruises after a hard fought night of physical play. Before tonight's contest the A's struggled to defeat the Express in their arena, but behind excellent play from Stefan Nastic & Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson they managed to turn their fortunes around. Orangeville was challenged defensively for most of the game but stood their ground down the stretch to win back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of the season.

Recently acquired 7-foot centre Stefan Nastic was a huge presence tonight, finishing the game with 19 points, 7 rebounds

The A's wasted no time getting the ball in to their newly acquired 7-foot centre, Stefan Nastic (Thornhill, ON). After the first frame of play he lead all scorers and scored over half of the team's 15 points. Both sides had trouble putting the ball in the basket but Windsor would take an early advantage due to slightly better shooting.

Only down 3 points to begin the 2nd quarter there was no reason to be alarmed considering their slow start. Orangeville's scoring began to pick up but Windsor would have a response for every A's basket. As the frame went on, the Express' outside scoring would catch fire and begin to put Orangeville in the rearview mirror. In addition to their shooting they capitalized on the A's turnovers and in turn increased their shooting percentage to a very strong 48% on the game. Windsor's Warren Ward would handle most of his team's scoring duties as the A's would find themselves down 45-37 at the half.

Most of the A's scoring would come in the paint and they used their length and size to cut into the growing deficit. They were successful for a large part of the quarter and even managed to take the lead halfway through the quarter but Nastic found himself in foul trouble, which Windsor didn't hesitate to exploit. Without a strong inside presence, Windsor's DeAndre Thomas muscled his way in the paint often getting to the line where he didn't miss a single free throw. To add salt on the wound, Windsor would sink a half court shot off the glass to grab a 5-point lead going into the 4th.

After clawing back from a larger deficit during the 1st half, the A's were confident to quickly reclaim their lead and they did just that. Opening the first few minutes with a 13-5 run they didn't waste any time getting back out in front. Hollis-Jefferson pushed the ball at every opportunity and their transition scoring sped the game up to a pace in which the A's looked very comfortable. Windsor battled back within a few scores in the final 2 minutes but once again the A's dominance on the glass prevented the Express from getting any second looks off missed shots. Their best offensive quarter coupled with their best overall defensive quarter would keep Windsor at bay as they left the game with a win that came down to the wire, 97-92. Orangeville improves to 6-6 on the season, good enough for 2nd position in the NBL Canada Central Division.

BY THE NUMBERS :

Inside scoring: A's outscored the Express by a whopping 20 points in the paint (48-28)

Another one: Orangeville scored 15 2nd chance points to Windsor's 8

Behind the arc: Orangeville shot 42% from 3, noticeably above their season average of 29%.

Next Game: Orangeville A's vs. Niagara River Lions (3:00 PM EST) Sun, February 5th, 2017

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