Great Team Effort Leads to Lightning Win
Sunday, February 11, 2018 (LONDON, ON) – The London Lightning broke a franchise record for assists in a game on their way to a 139-105 victory over the KW Titans.
Head coach, Keith Vassell, feels this is a sign of what this team can do and knows the hard work must continue. "All season we have been trying to play good defence, consistently and I think we were able to do that tonight. I think we really did a good job on the defensive end. And it resulted in us consistently getting high percentage shots on the offensive end. This has been a build and I am very, very proud of the guys and the commitment they have made through out the season to handle a lot of ups and downs and it's a sign of much better things to come. We have been working really hard in practice. The guys have been very committed and focused and are giving everything that they can and it showed in the result today."
The Lightning recorded 45 assists on 52 field goals, breaking their franchise record of 44 assists back in 2013. Ryan Anderson dished out 13 of those himself as part of his second career triple-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Anderson has been close to recording triple-doubles many times this season notching seven double-doubles. "Finally got it. You can't force it and I was getting subbed out anyway but just happened to get three quick rebounds in the last few second…"
Anderson echoes coach Vassell's thoughts on the hard work the team has been putting in the past few weeks. "I think it's [45 assists] a testament to what we have been trying to work on in terms of moving the ball and making the extra pass, passing up a great look for a greater look. That's something we have been preaching since our last few losses. We have been working hard, all week in practice we've been working really hard, we changed a few things as far as defense and what we are trying to do, but we incorporated it all and held each other accountable to those things and tonight it showed."
Garrett Williamson lead all scorers with 29 points. Doug Herring Jr. filled the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Kyle Johnson added 19 and Marcus Capers chipped in 12.
The next London Lightning home game is Thursday, February 15th at seven P.M. against the St. John's Edge. Tickets are available at www.lightningbasketball.ca or the Budweiser Gardens Box Office.