Two unbeaten teams took the court at Budweiser Gardens on Saturday night.
The 8-0 London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada played host to the 5-0 Syracuse Stallions of The Basketball League in the United States.
After 48 minutes of basketball, the Lighting had their ninth win of the season and the Stallions had their first loss.
London defeated Syracuse 109-95 in front of a crowd of 1,551.
It took balanced scoring and the ability to take advantage of mistakes made by the Stallions.
Six players on the Lighting scored in double figures and London produced points off of turnovers, continually capitalizing on the 19 turnovers Syracuse committed.
The Lightning accumulated 16 steals over the course of the game and forced some of those mistakes on the other side.
The Stallions were coming off a 117-104 victory in Sudbury, Ont., the night before.
Jaylon Tate led the way for London. The Lightning guard had 20 points.
London’s depth once again played a major part in the team’s success. The Lightning bench had outscored the Syracuse bench 27-0 well into the fourth quarter.
London also dominated under the basket throughout the game.
The Lightning started the 2015-16 NBLC season with a record of 12-2. They are on pace to top that in 2022.
London will look to continue the start they have been on when they host the Sudbury Five on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens. London is 2-0 against the Five this season, having beaten them 117-92 in London, Ont., and 114-101 in Sudbury, Ont.
The Lightning lead within the four-team NBLC standings is still four games over the K-W Titans. K-W derailed the Windsor Express on March 18, beating them by 20 points. London’s record against the Titans this year is 3-0.
K-W and London will meet next on Apr. 2 in Kitchener-Waterloo.