Storm drops close one

Moncton Miracles prevail in NBL of Canada action on the mainland

The Island Storm dropped a close one to the host Moncton Miracles on Sunday, losing 9693.

The major turning point in the National Basketball League of Canada game was the difference defensively between the second and third quarter.

Storm head coach Joe Salerno said heading out after halftime his squad played flat on the defensive end.

“We came out flat and we didn’t defend with the same intensity that we did it the second when we held them to only 18 points. And you can’t do that playing against a good team like Moncton,” said Salerno.

The Storm fell to 9-10 (wonlost) while Moncton upped its mark to 5-14.

Tirrell Baines kicked off the scoring for the club when he nailed 2-for-2 from the freethrow line. After that, the first quarter went back and forth, but it was the Miracles coming away with the early 25-24 lead.

The Storm’s defence came up huge in the second quarter, holding Moncton to 18 points in the frame. The strong defensive play had the Storm leading 48-43 going into halftime.

The third quarter was an entirely different story for the Storm, who allowed Moncton to score 34 points to take a 77-72 lead heading into the fourth.

The Storm came out strong in the fourth quarter, brought the fight to the Miracles and battled back, cutting the lead down to one with 1:05 left in the game.

But the Storm turned the ball over on their next play, and Moncton made a few free throws to seal the win

Top scorer in the game was Moncton’s Russell Byrd, who had 22 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

Terry Thomas led the way for the Storm with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Looking ahead to Friday’s game against the Halifax Hurricanes, Salerno said the Storm just simply needs to play better.

“We didn’t hit our shots (Sunday). We shot poorly from both the free-throw line and three-point range, and you’re not going to win many games in this league shooting the ball like that.

“Hopefully we’ll get back to playing our game on Friday.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO Terry Thomas of the Island Storm, left, defends against Moncton Miracles guard Malik Story in a National Basketball League of Canada game in Moncton, N.B., on Sunday afternoon. Moncton won the game 96-93.