Highlanders end season with loss to Riptide
Cape Breton misses NBL of Canada playoffs for second consecutive season
The Cape Breton Highlanders certainly wrapped up their 2017-18 season in a hurry.
The Highlanders ended the season with a 116-101 road loss to the Saint John Riptide on Sunday afternoon with the Harbour Station matinee quickly following back-to-back home games at Centre 200 on Friday and Saturday evening.
With Sunday’s loss, the Highlanders finished the National Basketball League of Canada season with a record of 13-27 and six games shy of the final playoff position in the Atlantic Division.
Cape Breton was once again paced by Bruce Massey Jr.’s game-high 29 points. Massey, whose 21.6 points per game was third highest in the league, also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
Jamal Reynolds netted 22 points and Chris Braswell added 21, but it wasn’t enough to outscore a Riptide lineup that featured six players scoring in double digits, including Tyquane Goard who dropped 25 points.
On Friday, the Highlanders upended the Charlottetownbased Island Storm 117-110 before losing 94-90 to the division-winning Halifax Hurricanes (28-12) on Saturday. The Storm (19-21), who had recently won eight straight games, dropped their final four matches of the season and fell to fourth place, meaning an opening round playoff series against the Hurricanes.
The Riptide (20-20) are set to take on the Moncton Magic in the other Atlantic Division series.
The Central Division matchups see the London Lightning (27-13) taking on the Niagara River Lions and the St. John’s Edge (25-14) playing the Windsor Express (20-20).
Cape Breton has now missed the playoffs in both of its first two seasons in the league. The Highlanders ended the 2016-17 season with a 15-25 record, one game out of a playoff position.
Despite missing the post season again, team president and general manager Tyrone Levingston told the Cape Breton Post that professional basketball has a positive future in Cape Breton.
“We have some of the best fans in the league and we’re only two years strong, so I can imagine where we’re going to be in years three, four and five,” said Levingston.
“I hope to build a strong foundation and build a team that we can be proud of whether it’s making it all the way to the championship or being in the playoffs.”