Lightning Take Game One in Division Semi-Final

Friday, April 6, 2018 (LONDON, ON) –  The London Lightning take the first game in round one of the NBL Playoffs with a big 151-115 win over the Niagara River Lions.  

Head coach, Keith Vassell, was pleased with the full team effort the Bolts brought to the court tonight. "The beauty of our team is we have a variety of different guys who can go off. Today – Marcus had a fantastic game, Julian came in and knocked down shots, Mo did a lot of things – blocked shots, grabbed rebounds, knocked down shots… Doug was huge, especially in the first half."

The Lightning had eight players score in double figures; Doug Herring Jr. (22 points, 12 assists), Garrett Williamson (22 points, six rebounds), Ryan Anderson (20 points, seven assists), Royce White (19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists), Julian Boyd (17 points), Kyle Johnson (16 points), Marcus Capers (13 points) and Mo Bolden (11 points, 14 rebounds, six assists).

Herring Jr. controlled the game from start to finish, setting up his teammates, playing lock down defense and finding his own chances to score. "It was a good win. Game one of the playoffs; you know we wanted to come out and make a strong statement. We kept up the pace we wanted to have and we were focused. We have to have that same focus tomorrow, clean some stuff up tomorrow morning and come out tomorrow night ready to play."

The Lighting have a quick turn around for game two that goes tomorrow night. Coach Vassell was happy with the result but knows tomorrow is a whole different ball game. "I thought we started off the game well tonight, we capitalized on the opportunities that we had, and we moved the ball well. It's one game at a time – every game matters, you do the best you can in that game and now you look at the next one. I'm happy with the result and now we keep ourselves going for tomorrow."

Game two in round one in NBL 2018 playoffs is tomorrow night, Saturday, April 7, at seven P.M. at Budweiser Gardens. Tickets are available at the Budweiser Gardens Box Office or www.lightningbasketball.ca.

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