Express score `big win' in push for playoff spot

The math is starting to add up for the Windsor Express.

As they hit the home stretch of the regular season, the Express scored a key 108-102 victory over the Newfoundland Rogues on Thursday before a crowd of 2,181 at the WFCU Centre.

“It was a big win for sure,” Express guard Shadell Millinghaus said. “I think we're in third place now because of it.”

Windsor's fourth win in the last five games improved the club to 13-9 on the season and moved them past the Rogues (15-11) by percentage points.

Normally, it's wins and losses that determine a finish. However, the Basketball Super League is playing an unbalanced schedule in its inaugural season with some games against teams in The Basketball League. When the regular season ends, winning percentage will determine the four playoff teams.

“It's a funny league because it's percentages,” Express head coach Bill Jones said. “Some teams play eight TBL teams, Newfoundland plays 10 and we're only playing two. No disrespect to the TBL, but they're not the calibre of the six (BSL) teams that are banging, banging, banging. We're just beating each other up and you get a relief with the TBL team.”

Windsor moved into third place with the win with a .591 winning percentage, Newfoundland slips to fourth place at .577 and fifth-place Sudbury (13-10) is in the mix at .565.

“This is my first time playing like this with winning percentage,” Millinghaus said. “It's a lot of pressure, but that just makes you want to go harder.”

After giving up 130 points to the Rogues the last time the teams met, the Express were a much more focused group on defence Thursday.

“That was a long game, but we came out on top,” Express forward Ty Groce said. “I pride myself on defence personally. You have to make stops and we were able to contain them a little bit more.”

Windsor opened a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but the Rogues made it a back-and-forth game throughout.

“It was huge,” Jones said. “This was a huge game for us. This was probably the biggest game of our season. It was the team above us, beat us here the last time and it was a huge win.”

It was a stressful end as a seven-point Express lead with 61 seconds to play turned into a twopoint game with 35 seconds to play as Windsor struggled against Newfoundland's press before sealing the game at the free-throw line.

“They put a little press on us,” Millinghaus said. “It was a little confusing at first because we didn't have anyone going to the middle and had to figure it out.”

Groce paced the Express with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Sam Muldrow had 21 points and Millinghaus came up one assist short of a triple-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Latin Davis added 15 points to push past 1,000 for his career in Windsor, while Jalen Hayes finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds and Mike Parks Jr. also scored 10 for the Express, who improved to 9-2 at home.

The Express have four games left in the regular season and three are at home with one against a TBL squad and the lone road game against last-place Montreal.

“We control our own destiny,” Jones said.