During their 10-game winning streak, some things have come easy for the London Lightning.
They have beaten the Niagara River Lions three separate times and they also defeated the K-W Titans by 31 but getting to their 10th straight victory was anything but easy.
The Lightning went to double-overtime against the visiting Moncton Magic on Saturday night before winning 147-146.
Things didn’t end with a game-winning, three-pointer at the buzzer or a turnover to seal the game.
In fact, the last points scored in the game that didn’t come by way of the foul line, came off the fingertips of Mo Bolden, who made a layup to put London up 143-141 with 3:21 to go in the second overtime period.
From there it was a crazy collection of missed shots, rebounds and free throws that accounted for the last nine points. Bolden made a bucket with just six seconds remaining to give the Lightning a three-point edge. Al Stewart of the Magic put the ball through the hoop with one second remaining to close the gap to one point, but that is as close as Moncton would get.
London roared out of the gate and led by 11 at the end of the first quarter only to have the Magic chip away through the rest of regulation time. Terry Thomas tied the game 126-126 with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Ryan Anderson got a shot off before the buzzer, but it missed, extending the night for both teams.
Bolden finished the game with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Royce White led all scorers with 46 points. He also had 14 rebounds and 5 assists and was 10-of-13 from the foul line. Anderson had a monster night from three-point range, hitting on seven of his 20 attempts. He had 27 points and fell two assists shy of a triple-double. Garrett Williamson (24 points), Kirk Williams Jr. (19 points) and Doug Herring Jr. (12 points) also scored in double figures.Thomas led the Magic with 31 points and 12 rebounds.
The longest regular season winning streak in NBL Canada history was recorded last year by the Lightning. They won 14 in a row in the regular season.
The St. John’s Edge kept pace with London on Saturday by beating K-W 109-99. The Lightning lead the Central Division with a record of 12-5. The Edge are 11-5 and the teams will meet on January 17 at 7 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens before the Lightning head out on an Atlantic road trip to Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Halifax, N.S.
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