London Lightning win home opener

In June, the London Lightning defeated the Halifax Hurricanes to win their third championship in franchise history. On Sunday, the Lightning raised the championship banner commemorating that title and then beat Halifax again.

Royce White and Garrett Anderson poured in 20 points apiece and Kirk Williams Jr. came off the bench to score 23 as London pushed their way to a 112-99 victory.

The win was the first by the Lightning this season. They dropped their opener to the Niagara River Lions in St. Catharines last Saturday.

Free throws were a problem for London late in that game and while the Lightning weren’t perfect from the stripe on Sunday, they got to the line 26 times and made 19 of those shots. Williamson was a perfect 4-4 and also shot better than 50 per cent from the field.

White had a great game underneath the basket, snagging eight rebounds and picking up five assists. Many of those came on plays where White found Williams Jr. cutting to the hoop.

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While the Lightning have returned some key players like White, Williamson and Ryan Anderson, there is still a new blend of players on the team and a new make-up with a couple of extra big men. One of those is DeAndre Thomas who was with the Windsor Express in 2016-17.

Vassell was impressed with how the Lightning meshed in just their second regular season game.

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“We’re getting better and figuring out or identity a little bit more,” Vassell said. “I thought defensively we did the things we were supposed to most of the game and we still managed to get 112 points.”

Vassell also appeared pleased with the pace that his team played with.

The Lightning will be home to the Saint John Riptide on Thursday, Nov. 30 for their annual “Shine the Light” game.

London will be wearing custom purple-coloured jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game. All proceeds from the game will go to support the London Abused Women’s Centre.

In other NBL Canada action from Sunday, the Niagara River Lions improved to 2-0 with a 119-97 victory over the Express. Out east, Moncton knocked off Cape Breton 112-94.