Lightning Drop Second in a Row to Express
Thursday, February 1, 2018 (LONDON, ON) – For the second time in five days the London Lightning fall to the Windsor Express 123-120.
The Lightning once again fell behind in the second half, trailing by 17. Head coach, Keith Vassell knows the team can be better, and that there are key things to fix. "They made a lot of tough shots, but we also gave them a lot of open shots. If we left them with just the tough shots then we would have been fine. We missed a lot of free throws and missed open shots in the fourth quarter too and then we lose by three points… we have to get better that's all… everyone in the [locker] room believes in each other. We've gone through a couple transitions, so I do believe that we will bounce back, we just have to refocus."
The Lightning started off strong but a third quarter lull hurt them. Doug Herring Jr and Garrett Williamson were consistent for the Bolts throughout the game, pushing the ball and slashing through the key. Herring Jr. dropped 28 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Williamson added 25 points with seven rebounds and five assists along with four blocks. Mo Bolden chipped in 18.
Julian Boyd played his first game at home for the Lightning after having surgery on his right knee 10 months ago and he fit right in. "I'm always going to know how to play, it's just getting into what we are doing; getting into our sets, our defense, and keep working. It helps that I played with most of the guys last year. But the biggest thing is mental – when I go out there I'm not thinking about my knee, I'm thinking about stopping this guy, catching the ball, dunking on that guy, shooting the ball. It's all just time, it's all uphill from here." Boyd was a key reason the Lightning closed the gap in the fourth quarter. Hitting three jumpers in a row to ignite the Lightning run down the stretch.
The next London Lightning home game is this Saturday, February 3rd at seven P.M. against the Niagara River Lions. Tickets are available at www.lightningbasketball.ca or the Budweiser Gardens Box Office.
-30-