Halifax defeated Summerside 122-107 in National Basketball League of Canada action in front of an announced 1,863 fans at EastLink Arena. It was the Storm’s fifth straight loss.
The final result was rarely in doubt after the Storm's defence allowed the Rainmen to shoot 60 per cent from the field, and score 70 points in the second half.
"It was the worst half of basketball we've played defensively in the second half all season," said Summerside head coach Joe Salerno.
"It's ridiculous to allow 70 points in the second half. We played a terrible, terrible half of basketball."
The loss drops the Storm to 5-8 (won-lost) on the season, putting them in second-last spot in the league.
Halifax improved to 7-4 with the win, the Rainmen's second straight road victory over Summerside after defeating the Storm in a 97-96 thriller last Thursday.
"It was a very, very difficult game, and the game (last week) was too," said Rainmen head coach Josep Claros Canals. "We cannot celebrate anything - we didn't win anything special, we just won one game. But I think my players are pretty solid right now."
Started strong
Summerside started strong in the first quarter of Thursday's game, jumping out to a 34-23 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Halifax began to chip away at that lead, however, and was down 57-50 to the Storm at halftime.
"It was the worst half of basketball we've played defensively in the second half all season. It's ridiculous to allow 70 points in the second half. We played a terrible, terrible half of basketball." - Storm head coach Joe Salerno
The Rainmen's Lawrence Wright scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half.
The Storm's Mike Williams poured in 17 of his game-high 27 points in the first two quarters. He also added 15 rebounds to complete a double-double in a losing effort.
"It was just a few mistakes that changed the whole game," said Williams. "You have to stay positive. We're just going to talk about everything, move on to the next game and continue to get better."
Halifax began to light up the Storm's defence in the third quarter, pulling ahead 92-84 heading into the final frame.
Everything seemed to fall for the Rainmen in the fourth, and Summerside's lack of energy on defence led to several easy Halifax buckets.
By the final buzzer, eight Rainmen players had scored in double digits, including a 10-point, 10-rebound night for Eric Crookshank.
Eric Gilchrese added 18 for the Storm, who hosts the winless Moncton Miracles (0-11) on Friday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
"Moncton's extremely capable of coming in here and beating us tomorrow (Friday) night,” said Salerno. “If we play the way we did in the second half tonight (Thursday), they will.”
sbrun@journalpioneer.com
