Back at home on Sunday afternoon, the London Lightning defeated the St. John’s Edge 106-101 at Budweiser Gardens to advance to the NBL Canada finals for the third year in a row.
It also marks the third consecutive year that London will play Halifax for the championship.
Less than 24 hours after the Hurricanes won the Atlantic Division final series on Saturday over the Moncton Magic, London climbed on the back of Garrett Williamson, who fell three assists shy of a triple-double and powered them to win number four over the Edge.
Williamson had 24 points, ten rebounds and seven assists, taking some added offensive load that was created following the suspension of Royce White. White was given a one-game ban for an accumulation of technical fouls and a 10-game suspension for an off-court altercation with NBL deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson during Game 5 on Thursday.
The Lightning got a balance of contributions from their other four starters, Ryan Anderson (16 points), Mo Bolden (14 points), Julian Boyd (14 points) and Doug Herring Jr. (10 points). Kirk Williams Jr. had 17 points off the bench for London.
The game was tight and low scoring through the first half and the Lightning took a 46-40 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The Edge made up that deficit in the third quarter and led by a single point going into the final 12 minutes.
The teams stayed close through the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter and then Joel Friesen-Latty hit a three-pointer to help spark a 7-0 run by London and give them some apparent breathing room.
A Carl English three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining got the Edge back to within a basket, but St. John’s could never find a way to tie the game and London pulled away as time expired for a five-point win and another rematch with Halifax for a shot at repeating as champions.
The Lightning lead the NBL Canada with three titles since 2011-12. Halifax won their lone championship in 2016.
Dates and times for the Finals will be announced in the near future.
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