Worst loss in franchise history
Coach and owner say changes will be made after River Lions lose by 46 points
Grace Lokole certainly didn’t mince his words, and neither did the founder and CEO of the Niagara River Lions.
“This is rock bottom,” was the message Lokole, the head coach of the River Lions, delivered to his players minutes after the second-year franchise suffered its worst loss in team history, dropping a 125-79 decision to the London Lightning in front of 1,519 fans at Meridian Centre Thursday night.
“We’re not a very good team,” said Lokole who took over as bench boss of NBL Canada team last February.
“I’ve talked about consistency and the injuries haven’t helped us, but we’re not a very good team.
“They (London) had nine players today, and we had 10, they beat us by 46 — I’ve never lost by 46 points in my life.”
London opened a 27-12 first quarter lead then outscored Niagara 4114 over the final 12 minutes in front of a stunned River Lions crowd.
Team owner Richard Petko is as shocked as most across the league with the teams (5-11) start.
“I went into this season thinking we had a powerhouse as well,” Petko said.
“I thought we had a team that could really compete, really dominate. Either I was delusional, or we all were delusional, because I wasn’t the only one with that opinion.
“But we’ve all learned that the Niagara River Lions that were on paper on Dec. 25 are nowhere near the reality we’ve seen from game play.”
Former NBA first-round draft pick Royce White recorded his third triple-double of the season for the Lightning, recording 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Marcus Lewis led Niagara with 26 points, while Kirk Williams Jr. tallied the double-double 15 points and 10 boards, but the River Lions shot under 40-percent from the floor and just 14-percent from three-point range.
“It’s back to the drawing board. We have to figure this out, but we’re not a very good team right now,” said Lokole.
“Personally I’m disappointed in myself. I have to do better. Five and 11 is not where I want to be. It’s not what the home town deserves, the owners don’t deserve. The front office works very hard, they don’t deserve five and 11.
“On the basketball side we’re not delivering, and everyone else is but us. “It starts with me.” With a full nine days off now, and the team’s next home game not until March 7, Petko said changes will be coming.
“I agree with him (Lokole), changes have to be made. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a one-game thing, it’s been going on for a while,” he said.
“London is the top team in our division, and for us to ever win a championship we know we have to beat them. And we haven’t beaten them with starters, we haven’t beaten them with backups, so player changes have to be made.
“There’s no doubt about it, and they will be made in the very near future.”
Lion Pride: Logan Stutz, Mike Allison, Richard Amardi and Bilal Benn did not dress for the River Lions as every healthy player saw the floor in the loss … London hit 19 three-pointers and hit 43 this week against Niagara … The Lightning improved to 13-3 with the win. The only team in the league with a better winning percentage is Halifax at 13-2.