River Lions hit the road
Niagara snaps three-game losing streak in PEI.
The Niagara River Lions snapped a three-game losing streak in impressive fashion Thursday night in Prince Edward Island.
The River Lions set a franchise record as three players recorded double-doubles in a 104-101 victory over the Island Storm in Charlottetown. Kirk Williams Jr. led the way with 23 points and 19 rebounds, while Sam Muldrow added 17 points and 12 boards, and Richard Amardi 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“I am very proud of them for this fantastic honour and record,” Lions head coach Keith Vassell said.
While Williams, Muldrow and Amardi put themselves in the record book, a total of six Niagara players reached double-digits in scoring as the River Lions outscored the Island Storm 32-20 in the second quarter and never trailed from that point on.
“There was not much difference between tonight and the last two games,” Vassell said. “We just closed off the game. We had a strong desire to see it through to the end.”
The win was absolutely huge for the Lions, who improved their regular-season National Basketball League of Canada record to 11-23). With six games remaining in league play, Niagara is still three games behind Orangeville for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.
“It is a testament to what we are capable of,” Vassell said. “We have a lot of potential, we just have not put it together for 48 minutes yet.”
“We will before the end of the season. We have some real talented players on this team.”
The River Lions now visit Halifax Saturday night and Cape Breton Sunday afternoon before closing out their regular season with four straight home games.
Lion Pride: Logan Stutz and Sammy Zeglinski were officially released from the team earlier in the week … Former Brock Badger Matt Marshall returned from playing professionally in Slovakia and signed with Niagara … Mike Allison, who was traded from the River Lions earlier this season, made his Island Storm debut and scored two points.