Power Lose to Express After Tough Third Quarter
January 24, 2015 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Mississauga Power News Release
(Mississauga, ON -) The Power played with hustle and heart in a huge first half performance but fell through to the Windsor Express 106-96. Power had a strong 46 point performance from the bench led by Jordan Weidner with 14 points, four assists and three steals. A double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds from Travis Releford and 24 points from Warren Ward kept the Power in the mix but couldn't match up against Windsor's size and their 60 points in the paint.
The Power were switched on and kept the game tight with a 14 point tie at the 5 minute mark. Mississauga went to work and took the lead from a sweet mid range shot from guard Warren Ward. The Power's defence stifled the Express thanks forward Marcus Capers racking up four boards on the way to outrebounding Windsor 15-10. Forward Travis Releford was unstoppable from short and long range, draining a contested three plus eight points in the paint. The Hershey Centre lived up to Mississauga's style of high energy hoops through Ward's athleticism on a steal and thrilling dunk to put the Power ahead 28-24.
Guard Omar Strong kicked the second quarter up a notch when he stole an offensive rebound on the mismatch and nailed a three in the same possession. The Express responded by taking the physicality to another level but it couldn't slow down Strong and his hot shooting. Mississauga confidently led 38-30 and stuck it to the Express with a three ball from guard Jordan Weidner in front of the Windsor bench. Windsor took the basket in stride and tied the match at 47 points at the end of the half.
The Express went on a 9-2 point run until centre Paul Cooper worked the basket with an up and under to try and jolt Mississauga's offense. But Windsor smelled blood and edged past the Power 66-55. Releford ended the drought with a tough drive off a steal but the Express continued to chug along to 72-57 lead. Weidner sparked the squad with a drive along the baseline, a steal and drew a foul to give the Power something to work with. Mississauga held Windsor scoreless for the last two minutes to chip away to a 64-77 margin at the buzzer. Ward woke up the Hershey Centre by posterizing a Windsor defender and drawing the foul to complete a three point play. A few plays later, Ward hit a three pointer and the Power were back on track and got two stops at Windsor's end. Weidner came up strong for his tenth point of the night coming off the bench and Releford followed suit to make a pair of free throws to cut down Windsor's lead to ten.
Mississauga didn't back down and aggressively tried to come back. Weidner was the scrappiest of them all, either getting banhed up on the way to the basket or draining contested three's for seven points and two steals. The Express were too far ahead for the Power to finish their revival and took a 106-96 defeat.
The Power take the court next on Jan. 30 when they host the Island Storm for a 7 p.m. tip off.
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National Basketball League of Canada Stories from January 24, 2015
- Express Back on Top After Road Win - Windsor Express
- Power Lose to Express After Tough Third Quarter - Mississauga Power
- Mill Rats Post Dominating Performance for 5th Straight Win - Saint John Riptide
- Storm Place DesRoches on Injured Reserve - Island Storm
- KV - SJ High Varsity Boys Precede Mill Rats Game at Harbour Station - Saint John Riptide
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