Express miss playoffs with tough loss
The task was simple for the Windsor Express.
A win at home Sunday and the Express would earn third place in the regular-season standings in the inaugural season of the Basketball Super League.
A loss, however, would drop the club to fifth in the league and outside the playoffs based on winning percentage.
Down early and struggling all game, the Express' season came to an end with a 135-130 loss to the Sudbury Five in front of a crowd of 1,683 at the WFCU Centre.
“Devastating. I wanted to play in the playoffs,” Express guard Shadell Millinghaus said. “Fell short, (but) God has a plan for everything. Everything happens for a reason.”
Sudbury, which would have been eliminated with the loss, took the hard road to a playoff spot. The club beat league-leading Kitchener-waterloo on the road Saturday and then completed the necessary double by taking out Windsor.
“That's frustrating because, as a former player, I understood that,” Express head coach Bill Jones said. “I understand this type of game and as a coach, you try to translate that on to your players that there's no tomorrow.
“So if you don't go get that loose ball, you don't block out and get a rebound and give up points, it's a chance for us to shut it down. Gave up 18 offensive rebounds, we gave up a lot of putbacks and a lot of balls that were on the floor that we didn't grab and that's what happens when you don't do those things.”
Millinghaus, who came over earlier in the season in a trade with London, was sensational for the Express with 50 points as Windsor clawed back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to make it a three-point game with a chance to tie in the final 10 seconds.
Coming out of a timeout, the play was to go to Millinghaus for a shot, but the Five tipped the ball and ended Windsor's hopes for a playoff spot a year after coming within a game of the NBL of Canada title.
“You get to a game where it's three (points) and eight seconds to go and you get a chance to get a shot off and you don't, it's tough,” Jones said. “Last play was designed for (Millinghaus). From my perspective, it looked like he was open to be able to get a shot to send it into overtime. Unfortunately, they tipped the ball and we weren't able to get a shot off, but Sudbury wanted it a little bit more than we did and you've got to credit those guys.”
Jalen Hayes finished with 17 points for the Express with Ty Groce and Latin Davis adding 14 points each. Sam Muldrow came off the bench to score 19 points.
With the BSL playing an unbalanced scheduled in its first season, playoff spots were determined by percentage points. Windsor played the second fewest games in the league with 24 against BSL teams and opted for just two games against teams from The Basketball League.
At 15-11, Windsor finished with a .577 winning percentage and won its only two games against BSL teams. Sudbury finished with a 19-13 mark for a .594 winning percentage, but seven of those wins came in eight TBL matches and the club was just 12-12 in BSL play. Newfoundland was at 20-14 for a .588 winning percentage, but was just 10-14 in BSL teams and used a 10-0 mark against TBL clubs to lock up a playoff spot.
“Most of the teams in our league play more games than us, so it's tough for us,” Millinghaus said. “They were playing TBL teams that were easier.”