Storm Loss Sets up Winner Take All Thursday at Eastlink
February 23, 2015 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Island Storm News Release
(Charlottetown, PE) The Island STORM played the best game of their last four but could not get the ball to drop in the final stages as the London Lightning took two points out of Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown Monday night with a 98-94 win.
The stage is now set for Thursday night at Eastlink Centre when the Halifax Rainmen come to PEI to play the STORM with the winner coming away with the Atlantic Division regular season title and home court advantage during the first two rounds of the NBL Canada Playoffs.
But back to Monday night first. It was a defensive battle as both the STORM and London defended with a vengeance with the Island team holding a 22-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. The battle continued on into the second as London led 44-40 at halftime but only by one after three quarters. That set up a fourth quarter that featured seven lead changes down the stretch which had the home crowd on the edge of their seats.
Nick Okorie led the way for the STORM with 22 points while Sammy Zeglinski scored 14, Olu Famutimi 12, and Nick Evans 11. Mike Williams scored 10 for the STORM and added 8 rebounds.
Brent Jennings and Marvin Phillips each scored 18 points to top the Lightning attack with Emmanuel Little scoring 17, Ed Horton 13, and Jonathan Mills 11. The dark side of the night for London was when Mills went down late in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. Mills was carried from the court in distress and sent to hospital for x-rays.
So it all comes down to one game for the Atlantic Division with two teams seemingly going in opposite directions. The Rainmen have been on their best win streak of the season while the STORM has dropped their last four. But STORM Fans saw a STORM team back to their strong defending ways against London Monday night which can only mean good news for the team on Thursday night.
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National Basketball League of Canada Stories from February 23, 2015
- Storm Loss Sets up Winner Take All Thursday at Eastlink - Island Storm
- Lightning Defeat Storm - London Lightning
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- Miracles Drop An Overtime Thriller to the Mill Rats - Moncton Miracles
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