Lightning comeback falls short against Windsor

A huge fourth quarter by the London Lightning on Thursday was not enough to bring them all the way back against the Windsor Express.

The Express held on for a 123-120 victory at Budweiser Gardens, to sweep a home-and-home with the Lightning and hand London their third-straight defeat.

London fought through a 14-point deficit to begin the final quarter and a Kyle Johnson layup closed the gap to four points with four seconds remaining. Windsor’s Braylon Rayson made two free throws to seal the win for the Express.

Windsor shot the ball extremely well for the second game in a row, hitting 52.1% of their shots from the field and 42.4% from 3-point range.

The Express put up very similar numbers in their 107-96 victory over the Lightning on Sunday.

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Doug Herring Jr. led the way offensively for London with 28 points. Garrett Williamson had 25 points and Julian Boyd contributed 18 off the bench.

The Lightning put up solid numbers under the basket, scoring 54 points in the paint, but struggled shooting the ball from long range and went 63.6% from the free throw line.

Royce White remained absent from the Lightning for personal reasons, missing his second consecutive game.

The loss made for a bittersweet ending to the day for Lightning head coach, Keith Vassell. He was named National Basketball League of Canada coach of the month for January after leading London to seven straight victories to begin 2018.

It also knocked London into second place in the Central Division, behind the St. John’s Edge. The Lightning sit 14-8 on the year. The Edge are 14-7.

The Express have now won three games in a row and are currently tied with St. John’s for the longest, current winning streak in the NBL of Canada.

In other action on Thursday, the Cape Breton Highlanders handed the K-W Titans their fifth straight loss, beating the Titans 127-117 in Nova Scotia.

Halifax hammered Saint John 119-86 to stay ahead of the Riptide atop the Atlantic Division.

Next up for the Lightning is a game against the Niagara River Lions at Budweiser Gardens on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7:00 p.m.