Photo by effekt! via Flickr
Spurred on by a season-high crowd, the Halifax Rainmen hiked their winning streak to three with a 122-104 victory over the Saint John Mill Rats on Friday night at the Metro Centre.
Playing in front of 3,562 fans, the hosts used a prolonged surge beginning in the second quarter to quiet their Maritime rivals, who had come into the National Basketball League of Canada contest on a three-game unbeaten spree of their own.
Via “Haywood drains 26 in Rainmen victory” by Brian Freeman
Halifax Rainmen 122 – Saint John Mill Rats 104
This was my appointed NBL game viewing of the week and, naturally, I was late to the festivities Friday night. Tuning in via webstream midway through the 1st quarter, I found Saint John holding the slimmest of leads, 14-13, over Halifax. The quarter finished in a 27-27 tie. Rainman Eric Crookshank, a 6’6″ forward from Oakland, CA, was a pleasure to watch around the basket. Post ups and back downs weren’t his calling card on the night, but instead it was fluid, cutting movement to get open for passes and also a spectacular put back dunk on a missed layup while trailing a fastbreak.
As the 2nd quarter opened up, the Rainmen began to apply a frightening defense upon the Mill Rats. Orien Greene on one particular play broke up a Mill Rat fastbreak and took it coast-to-coast the other way for a three-point play after getting fouled converting the layup. That play put Halifax up 49 – 42. Greene summarily converted a 3-point field goal, which was followed by an and-1 play from teammate Taliek Brown. The score at the half was 60 – 51 in favor of Halifax. Crookshank had 12 points in the half and Greene contributed 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
The 3rd quarter commenced with a string of great plays from Halifax. A 3-pointer, then a long two, a transition layup and a claustrophobic defense annihilated any chance for a Saint John comeback. The game was clearly getting out of hand and I switched over to view the beginnings of the Oshawa Power and London Lightning showdown.
But not before the Rainmen detonated two exciting plays. The first was a towering baseline finger roll by Brown after he blew past a lunging defender at the three-point line. The second was a fastbreak straight from the Showtime Lakers. Pushing the ball upcourt, a cross-lane pass was thrown to a Rainman who then quickly dropped a behind the back bounce pass as he flowed out of bounds to a trailing teammate who easily converted the layup. The score was 84-63 Halifax. Game. Blouses.
But since I’ve last rounded up the NBL, the Mill Rats did put the first blemish on the London Lightning’s record. Saint John upset the then-undefeated Lightning 96-86 last Sunday the 13th.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC-dzVBNuIM w=500 h=300]
Box Score Standouts of the Week
Al Stewart – G Summerside Storm
In the Storm’s 119 – 101 victory over Moncton, Stewart lodged 22 points, 11 rebound, 7 assists and 5 steals in a performance worthy of Denver Nuggets legend Fat Lever. The only drawback was the 6 turnovers, but he did finish 7-8 from the field.
In the same game, forward Chris Cayole finished with 27 points on 11-19 shooting including 5-11 from three-point range.
Anthony Anderson – G Saint John Mill Rats
Anderson put together a fine performance in the Mill Rats’ 91-88 victory over Oshawa on the 14th. Proving particularly potent from downtown (5-10) Anderson finished with 27 points on just 18 shots. He also chipped in 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while playing the full 48 minutes of action.
In the Mill Rats’ contest with Summerside on the 17th, Anderson again proved the marksman with 35 points on just 18 shots and in only 32 minutes of action, spearheading the Saint John victory, 106-90.
Ralphy Holmes – G Quebec Kebs
Holmes was highly efficient for Quebec in their Wednesday night matchup in Oshawa. Holmes went 7-9 from the field for 19 points and also contributed 10 rebounds and 6 assists in 36 minutes of play.
Taliek Brown – G Halifax Rainmen
And we end the roundup where it began, Friday night’s Rainmen – Mill Rats contest. Taliek delivered a stellar performance every point guard should envy. The Rainman finished Friday night’s matchup against Saint John with 18 points on 9-13 shooting while also corralling 5 rebounds and getting his hands on 4 steals. Most impressively though was his 11 assists and 1 turnover on the night.
