The London Lightning repeated as NBL Canada champions with a 109-101 victory over the Halifax Hurricanes at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Friday night.
In a game that stayed tight throughout, Lightning forward Kirk Williams Jr. hit a three-point shot with 2:41 to go in the fourth quarter to turn a one-point London lead into a four-point London lead and the Lightning held from there as a combination of Garrett Williamson, Mo Bolden and Doug Herring Jr. went seven of eight from the free-throw line in the final 1:03 to end the game.
It marked the second straight year that London had defeated Halifax in a championship and the third straight year that the teams had met in the title series.
The Lightning won in six games in 2017 and the Hurricanes won a seven-game marathon in 2016.
Herring Jr. posted a double-double and led all scorers with 29 points. He also added 11 rebounds and went 6-for-10 from three-point range.
Williamson added 21 points for the Lightning and Williams Jr. scored 19.
As they were in Game 6, London was out-rebounded by Halifax, but were excellent from the foul line where the Hurricanes struggled.
London hit 75 per cent of their free throws to Halifax’s 52 per cent margin.
The Hurricanes were led in scoring by Billy White who had 25 points. Tyrone Watson scored 21. Both played over 40 minutes. The only player who logged more than 40 minutes in the game on the Lightning side was Herring Jr. who played a game-high 46.
London now has four NBL Canada championships in the seven-year history of the NBL Canada. They won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 as well. The Windsor Express are the only other team with more than one title. They won consecutive championships in 2014 and 2015.
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