Eight and counting
Island Storm explodes for 45 fourth-quarter points to defeat Cape Breton Highlanders
The Island Storm finished with a bang Sunday, defeating the Cape Breton Highlanders 116-99 to extend its winning streak to eight in a row.
The Highlanders led 27-21 after the first quarter, but trailed 54-51 at the half during National Basketball League of Canada action at the Eastlink Centre. The visitors retook the lead (76-71) heading to the final 12 minutes, but were outscored 45-23 in the fourth.
Franklin Session had a tripledouble, scoring 23 points to go with 14 rebounds, 11 assists and a steal, to pace the Storm. Du’Vaughn Maxwell had a game-high 27 points to go with 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal. Kemy Osse scored 23 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. Session and Osse each hit five three-pointers. Chris Anderson had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Carl Hall had 15 points and seven boards for a Storm squad playing without the injured Chris Johnson and Tyler Scott.
Rick Bodiford and Malik Story led the Highlanders with 23 and 22 points, respectively, while Bruce Massey Jr. had 18 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, a steal and a block. The Storm, which clinched a playoff berth Saturday when Cape Breton lost, improved to 18-16 while the Highlanders are 12-24. The third-place Storm travels to Saint John, N.B., Thursday to play the fourthplace Riptide (16-17) in a key game with playoff implications.