The London Lightning won’t necessarily have a long holiday break, but it will be a happy one.
London outlasted the Niagara River Lions 118-109 on Friday night at Budweiser Gardens to win their second straight game. The Lightning are now just one game under .500, sitting at 4-5 as they near the quarter mark of the 2017-18 basketball season.
London got off to a good start and led 34-24 at the end of the first quarter and they maintained momentum throughout the game.
“I feel good, we were able to put two wins together against two good teams without a full roster,” said London head coach Keith Vassell. “Definitely will take that win and go into Christmas.”
Different players have been stepping up lately for the Lightning and on Friday it was rookie Bryan Akingkube. He went 8 of 9 for 21 points and five rebounds in limited playing time. Foul trouble kept Akingkube to just 16 minutes, but when he wasn’t on the floor, three veterans in particular were keeping the flow going.
Ryan Anderson had 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for London. Anderson also had eight assists. Garrett Williamson scored 15 points and Marcus Capers excelled under the basket with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Vassell liked what he saw from a team perspective.
“We played together… we were swinging the ball really well, hitting the roll on the screens, making the extra pass and defensively, we were helping each other. Put that all together and there is n way we can fail.”
The loss by the River Lions stopped their string of three consecutive road victories.
London will now get a break until Boxing Day when they travel to Kitchener to take on the K-W Titans.
Kitchener has had the quietest schedule of any NBL Canada team so far. They have only played five games. The win by the Lightning on Friday was their ninth game of the season. Saint John’s has already played 12.
London will be home to the Windsor Express at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 at Budweiser Gardens.
Windsor defeated London 108-91 in their most recent meeting.
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