Express Loss Forces Game 7

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There will be one more stop on the road to the NBL Canada Finals. The Windsor Express were in the driver’s seat heading to London Saturday night, looking to close out the series with a win. The Lightning were not going to give up its defending reign so easily. For London, it wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done. The Lightning picked up the 84-79 win to take the series to Game 7.

Chris Commons led the Express with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Darren Duncan scored 17 points and picked up 6 assists. Quinnel Brown had 13 points.

Papa Oppong was out of the lineup after being injured in Game 5 Wednesday night in Windsor.

The first quarter was going Windsor’s way in the opening minutes. Quinnel Brown started things off by hitting a three-pointer. Darren Duncan then stepped up to hit a few baskets and foul shots, followed by a Kevin Loiselle one-hand jam. The game soon turned around, though. The Lightning returned to the other end with a rebounded dunk from Elvin Mims and lead-taking baskets. They had a 25-18 advantage over the Express after the first.

Despite early fouls in the second, the Lightning were able to build a 10-point lead. The fight was not over, though, as Windsor slowly, but surely, climbed back into the game. At halftime, the Express were only down 46-45.

The Lightning’s offense came out hot for the second half. Strong offense forced a quick Windsor timeout. The Express recovered momentarily and the two teams continued to battle for the all-important lead. At the end of the quarter, with one to go, London had the upper hand, 64-62.

The game was still anybody’s to grab. With plenty of time to play, the Express and Lightning each had their chances. In the bottom half of the quarter, London began to take control of the game. The Lightning eventually grabbed a lead that was insurmountable. Chris Commons hit a clutch three-pointer to narrow the lead to three points, but London answered with one of its own. Time winded down, and the Lightning held off a last-minute Express flurry to defeat Windsor 84-79 in Game 6.

The Windsor Express and London Lightning will play for it all this Tuesday, April 1^st at 7:05pm at the WFCU Centre.

On the eastern side of the country, the Island Storm defeated the Halifax Rainmen in Game 6 to advance to the finals.