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Albany Patroons hand London Lightning first loss of season

A big second half by the Albany Patroons kept the London Lightning from setting a new NBL of Canada record for best start to a season.

Albany got 37 points from A.J. Mosby on their way to a 97-90 victory over London which stopped the Lightning season-opening winning streak at 11 games.

That tied London with the 2012-13 Lightning who went on to win the second of back-to-back league championships.

The Patroons came into the game with a record of 7-1 and were facing a National Basketball League of Canada team for the first time.

London began the game like they have so many other times in 2022. They built a lead by half thanks to strong shooting by Cameron Forte and key offence off the bench from Terry Thomas and led by six points. Thomas ended the game with a team-high 22 points.

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Albany came out strong in the second half and outscored London 26-14 in the third quarter. The Patroons limited the Lightning to 37 second half points in total.

Cameron Forte recorded another double-double for London in the loss with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Amir Williams added 17 points for the Lightning. Williams was named NBLC Player of the Week after averaging 18.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and five blocks per game.

London shot 44 percent from the field but only 64 percent from the foul line.

Albany was able to score 29 points off turnovers and held a 44-39 edge in rebounds.

The Lightning will head to Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. to face the K-W Titans on Saturday, Apr.2. London has three wins over the Titans during their streak.

The next home game for the Lightning will be Sunday, Apr. 3 against Flint United at 2 pm at Budweiser Gardens.

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