The London Beat London, Ontario’s stream of consciousness
The London Lightning rolled all over the Niagara River Lions in the second half, outscoring them by 29 points, en route to another decisive 124-98 win. They now hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the five-game series, as they head back to Niagara Falls on Tuesday night.
The Lightning started sluggish, and were down 18-6 half way through the first period, but they kept their composure and chipped away at the River Lions’ lead. They had narrowed the gap to 33-26 by the end of the first, and were within two at 37-35 with five minutes to go in the half.
They couldn’t close the gap any more than that, and the Lightning went into the dressing room at the half, down 47-44.
⚡️ trail at the half pic.twitter.com/aOe59rLhU6
— London Lightning (@LondonLightning) April 8, 2018
Whatever Head Coach Keith Vassell said to the team at the break worked.
London dominated the third quarter, outscoring Niagara by 15 points (40-25). That gave the Lightning a comfortable 84-72 lead heading into the fourth. Mo Bolden was huge on the boards in the quarter which was integral in shifting the momentum in the game. He ended up with 12 rebounds and 19 points.
One to go! pic.twitter.com/PA8c1xj8dB
— London Lightning (@LondonLightning) April 8, 2018
The Lightning didn’t take their foot off of the proverbial River Lions’ throats, and dominated the final stanza as well. Another lopsided 40-26 quarter gave the Lightning 80 points to the River Lions 51 in the second half, and a convincing 124-98 win.
⚡️ take a 2 – 0 lead over the @RiverLions pic.twitter.com/4l38OnPiAu
— London Lightning (@LondonLightning) April 8, 2018
Garrett Williamson led all players with 26 points in just 28 minutes. He also pulled down 6 rebounds, and was named the Westervelt College player of the game.
.@Gg_Will is the Westervelt College player of the game! Game 3 is Tuesday in St. Catharines!
Recap: https://t.co/aWwbhMJgFd pic.twitter.com/YyW0y8O3Ox
— London Lightning (@LondonLightning) April 8, 2018
Royce White had another strong outing as well, knocking down 24 points and adding 7 assists as well as 8 rebounds.
Every single player on the roster registered at least one statistic, as Coach Vassell emptied his bench down the stretch when the game got out of reach. Even then the game was feisty, as emotions run high between these two teams.
The Lightning now have a 2-0 stranglehold on the best of five series, and head to niagara on Tuesday night to try and close out the series and advance to the semi-finals.
