River Lions heading home down 2-0

The effort was better, it just wasn’t sustained.

Despite taking a 16-2 lead to open the game, the Niagara River Lions dropped a 124-98 decision to the London Lightning Saturday night.

The win gives the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff series.

The River Lions would, in fact, lead 33-26 lead after one quarter of play, and 47-44 at halftime.

However, London would outscore the Lions 80-51 in the second half, and improve to 9-1 this season, including regular season, against Niagara.

“The focus was lost,” head coach Joe Raso said. “We we very good and we stayed deliberate in the first half and very good in defensive transition, and then the wheels started falling off a little bit and before you know it we gave up an 80-point half.”

Jaylon Tate certainly showed no rookie jitters leading the River Lions with 25 points, while Guillaume Boucard recorded the double-double: 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Garrett Williamson led the Lightning with 26 points, while Mo Bolden, 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Doug Herring Jr., 11 points and 12 assists, both notched double-doubles.

Turnovers and lost points also cost the Lions in the loss.

“We missed a dunk, and we missed a couple of layups, and all of a sudden it gave them some life and it started having an effect on us,” Raso said.

“Defensive stops give you mo-

THE SCOOP

Lightning 124

River Lions 98

Star of the game: London’s Garrett Williamson with a game-high 26 points.

For Niagara: Jaylon Tate (25, Guillaume Boucard 22, Sam Muldrow 10, Devonta Pollard 10, Dwayne Smith 10. For London: Williamson 26, Royce White 24, Mo Bolden 19, Julian Boyd 11, Ryan Anderson 11.

Shooting percentage: River Lions: 36.3; Lightning: 47.8.

Rebounds: Niagara, 55; London, 69

Turnovers: River Lions, 15; Lightning, 7

Free throws: Niagara, 14-21; London, 30-39

Up next: Game 3 in the best-of-5 series goes Tuesday night in St. Catharines. Tipoff at Meridian Centre is 7 p.m.

mentum, and before you know it we lost ourselves a decent lead quick.”

Raso admits the depth of London is a lot to account for.

“Credit to them, they’re long, they’re athletic, and they play hard,” said Raso, whose team now heads home for Game 3 Tuesday night at Meridian Centre.

“You’re a professional, and it’s about character,” Raso said. “Those two things are important, and you’ve got to show some character and show professionalism to get back into this thing.”

Lion Pride: The National Basketball of Canada has taken the request from the River Lions and named River Lions point guard Jaylon Tate rookie of the year. Tate averaged a league-best 7.5 assists per game. Lions swingman Guillaume Boucard was originally handed the honour, but issued a statement Friday saying Tate should win the award … Despite an early lead, Niagara never got to the foul line in the first quarter, while London made seven trips. The Lightning finished the game with 39 free-throw attempts, while the River Lions had 21.