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Orangeville Wins Thriller at Home against the Miracles

January 29, 2016 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Orangeville A's News Release


(Orangeville, ON) The Orangeville A's (3-6) played host to the Moncton Miracles (5-7) for the first time of the 2015-2016 NBLC season; signalling the only home game in their two game season series. The A's entered today's contest hoping to expose Moncton's defence, which has been averaging 112.1 points against over 12 games played (#1 in the NBLC). On the other hand Orangeville has been playing stellar defence as of late; holding #2 in the NBLC for both FG Pct defence (44%) and 3-PT FG Pct defence (34%).

Orangeville got things off to a quick start, taking an early 2 point lead with 9:45 to play in the 1st quarter, 6-4. Moncton provided a competitive 1st quarter for the A's, seeing the team's trade leads multiple times throughout 12 minutes. A's player Flen Whitfield led all players in scoring after the 1st quarter with a total of 9 points. Orangeville finished the quarter tied with Moncton, 29-29.

The beginning of the 2nd quarter saw the A's leap to an 8 point lead with 9:35 to play in the half, 38-30. With the help of A's forward Flen Whitfield and Lewis Jackson, who combined 30 points on the half, Orangeville was able to maintain a lead of at least 6 points the entire 2nd quarter. Orangeville finished the 1st half strong over the Miracles, holding a commanding lead of 11 points through 24 minutes, 63-52.

As the 3rd quarter began underway, Orangeville was able to maintain their momentum against the out-of-town Miracles. With help from the relentless scoring of the A's offence, Orangeville grabbed a 15 point lead with 7:06 to play in the 3rd quarter, 74-59. After falling into early foul trouble during the 3rd, Orangeville saw their lead get slashed to as little as a single point at the end of the 3rd quarter, 87-84. Miracle's player James Justice provided 13 points for the away team in the 3rd quarter, providing a tough defensive assignment from the Orangeville guards.

The 4th quarter proved to be an entertaining one for the capacity crowd at the Athlete Institute, with the home team keeping Moncton out of reach until the 7th minute. With 7:00 minutes to play in the 4th, the Orangeville lead was once again trimmed to only a single point, 96-95. Thanks to the late game scoring of Justin Moss, the Orangeville lead was raised once again to 11 points with 4:06 in the quarter, 108-97. During the final minutes of play however, the Orangeville lead was once again cut to only a single point, 109-108. After Moncton's James Justice sunk both of his last minute free throws, Moncton took the lead for the first time of the game, 109-110. In a mad scramble for the final shot, A's guard Rick Bodiford was sent to the line with only 0.4 seconds on the clock with the score tied 110-110. After nailing the game winning free throw, Orangeville closed out the Miracles for the narrow 1 point victory. The final score of the game was 111-110 for the A's.

Tonight's win will push Orangeville to 4-6 on the season, leaving them in 3rd place in the Central division. Flen Whitfield played a great game for the A's, scoring 20 at half and 22 on the night. As has been the case this entire season, Orangeville was able to make their presence felt strongly on the rebounding side of the ball. The Orangeville A's only play the Eastern division Miracles once more this season, with their next matchup coming Friday, February 19th in Moncton, Halifax at the Scotiabank Centre. Go to asbasketball.ca or nblcanada.com for info on how to get tickets and stay update on everything Orangeville A's!

On his birthday, Erik Copes hits the jump hook over the Moncton defence.

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National Basketball League of Canada Stories from January 29, 2016


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