Sea Dawgs run over Montreal
February 22, 2009 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Montreal Sasquatch News Release
(Wilmington, NC)- Montreal's newest professional basketball team looked a lot better Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina, but it still was not enough.
Kris Clark hit for 18 points and 10 assists as Wilmington outgunned an undermanned Montreal squad 92-111. Put together about 10 days ago, the team from la belle province suffers a third defeat in as many outing since New ownership took the guides of the former Montreal Sasquat'ch.
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Things didn't start well at all for Montreal. After scoring the first three points of the game on a shot by Lennox Malcom, Montreal players looked frozen for a couple of minutes. Wilmington went out on an 11-3 run to start the contest, and seemingly wasn't going to have trouble with a Montreal squad playing with only seven players.
So they thought. That's when Ratana Sak came alive, dropping 13 points on the last seven minutes of play to put Montreal within ten points after the first quarter. Wilmington would go on to lead by eight at the end of the first period of play, 22-30.
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In the second, Montreal came back on the three point shooting of Ratana Sak who, once again, had the hot hand. Sak would hit for 13 in the quarter on his way to 25 points in the half (7/10 3pts). In the half, Sak accounted for over half of his team's points. Quickly, the fourteen points lead the Sea Dawgs enjoyed was down to four at halftime (48-52).
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In the third, Montreal's players even grabbed the lead early on but could not old on to it. Wilmington went on a 22-2 run to more or less seal it for the Sea Dawgs. Montreal's chances were hurt even further when Ratana Sak went out of the game with 7:37 to go in the quarter after he collided with Cedric McGinnis. Sak would lie on the floor for about two minutes and would not return until the fourth after receiving stitches below his eye.
Montreal could not recover from the loss of their best scorer. Buster Perkins, David Dubois, Lennonx Malcom and Ali Benabdelhak all had flashes of brilliance, but the 20 points lead was too much to overcome. Montreal did win the last quarter (29-26), but Wilmington cruised the rest of the way to a not so easy 92-111 win.
After the game, head coach Tito Destin was proud of his players who had to play two hard fought battles in 24 hours.
«The guys gave all they had, and without the injury sustained by Ratana, the outcome could have been very different, stated Destin. Unfortunately, that was the turning point of the game. But our players didn't give up, that's what we'll have to remember from this game.»
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For Montreal, Rantana Sak finished with a game high 31 points, including seven three pointers, and 4 steals. David Dubois was the game's leading rebounder with 11 to go along his 12 points.
After having a career night, Sak was still thinking about the injury that prevented him from helping his teammates achieve the comeback they were trying to put together.
«I'm not going to lie to you, it was very frustrating to watch from the sidelines. Things were going very well for me and the team, and then it all went dark, explained Sak confirmed that the collision was accidental. I really wish I could have been there on the court. I think I could have helped bring back the lead to us.»
Buster Perkins had another strong outing for Montreal with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Other notables include Lennox Malcom and Ali Benabdelhak with 13 and 12 points respectively.
The Sea Dawgs were lead by Kris Clark's 18 points, 10 assists and 6 steals. Joseph King added 19 points while Cedric McGinnis chipped in 16.
After playing their first three games on the road, Team Montreal will meet it's fans for the first time next week-end as Halifax will travel to Montreal for an important division matchup Friday night.
On Saturday night, those very same Wilmington Sea Dawgs will be in town for a very hyped up rematch. A veteran on the team, David Dubois can't wait to renew with Montreal's supporters.
«It will be a lot of fun to play in front of family and friends; it'll be a nice change from the booing crowd we faced so far, mentioned Dubois after the game. We hope people will show up to encourage us. We're looking to finish the season on a high note in order to prepare the field for next season. We must continue to progress in that way.»
For more information, visit www.montrealmatrix.com. The website will soon be updated with information about the new team. In the meantime, fans can follow the schedule and activities of Team Montreal on the PBL website at www.pblproball.com.
Premier Basketball League Stories from February 22, 2009
- Frost Heaves take 10 Champlain Cup points from Quebec - Vermont Frost Heaves
- Sea Dawgs run over Montreal - Montreal Sasquatch
- Montreal hits a wall in Manchester - Montreal Sasquatch
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