It’s amazing what a little confidence can do.
The London Lightning appear to have found theirs after reeling off a fourth consecutive victory with a 129-106 win over the Windsor Express on Friday night at Budweiser Gardens.
Six Lightning players put up double-digits in the win and the team kept the tempo high throughout the game.
“That was probably one of our first games that the guys just played with confidence, there was that little extra swag to our game,” said Lightning coach. Keith Vassell. “We shot the ball fairly well but I think there was a certain bounce to their step tonight.”
Kyle Johnson led the Lightning with 30 points, while Ryan Anderson, Marcus Capers and Royce White recorded double-doubles.
White had a bit of a new look for the game, only it had nothing to do with fashion. After breaking his
nose, he played with a facemask, but still put up one of his best stat lines of the season with 25 points and 11 assists. White also had three rebounds.
London’s three-point shooting has vastly improved since the start of the season. The addition of Johnson and the return of Doug Herring Jr. this week have helped. The Lightning shot 41 per cent from beyond the arc and after the game, White pointed to that as being a key.
“We definitely are hitting a rhythm now. Ryan is continuing to play well… Doug is a veteran guy, he knows the game, knows how to play. He really got us going in the first half, and then he kinda deferred to the rest of us in the second half…. He was rolling in the first, so for him to defer like that and get us going in the first place, that’s the kind of thing that wins championships.”
Johnson was four-for-nine from three-point range, Anderson was four-for-10 and Herring Jr. was nearly perfect, hitting two -of-three.
Herring Jr. was happy to be back in London and impressed with what he saw from this year’s edition of the Lightning.
“Coach keeps stressing to play fast, the faster we play the more opportunities there are for everybody else. I just try to push the tempo and create opportunities for whoever it arises to.”
The Lightning will host Niagara on Saturday night at 7 p.m. London knocked off the River Lions on December 22 by a score of 118-109. The team will be accepting donations of gently used shies for
Cleats for Kids. Fans can drop them off inside the doors of Budweiser Gardens as they enter for the game.
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