National Basketball League of Canada
When all was said and done, the Mill Rats pulled out an important 100-89 come-from-behind victory to move one game over .500 at 17-16 in the Atlantic Division. The division-leading Storm, who missed an opportunity to open up some breathing room over the third-place Mill Rats, dropped to 19-13.
Strong first half
Things looked promising for the Storm in the first half, as they outscored the Mill Rats 27-13 and 23-13 in the first two quarters to take a 24-point lead – 50-26 – into the intermission.
However, the second half belonged to the Mill Rats, who outscored the Storm 74-39. The breakdown includes a 38-20 tally in the third quarter, and a 36-19 margin in the final 12 minutes.
Kenny Jones scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Mill Rats, who received 19 from Cavell Johnson. Melvin Council and Jerice Crouch each contributed 15 points while Julius Hodge chipped in with 12.
For the Storm, Brandon Robinson was the top offensive producer with a 23-point effort. Greg Plummer (17) and Omari Johnson (16) rounded out the Storm’s top-three scorers. Sharmi Spears, who signed with the Storm earlier this week when Antonio Ballard was placed on injury reserve, scored two points off free throws in his debut.
The Mill Rats outscored the Storm 48-26 in the paint, and had 20 second-chance points compared to Summerside’s five.
The Storm is back in action on Saturday night, when they visit the London Lightning in a clash of division leaders. The Storm’s next home game, which will mark the beginning of five straight games at Eastlink Arena to close out the regular season, is against the Mill Rats on Tuesday, March 5, at 7 p.m.
