Express Earn Double Overtime Win To Force Game 5

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The train is withstanding the storm. In an amazing comeback effort, the Windsor Express kept their playoffs alive Saturday night. Fighting from behind for most of the game, Windsor never sat back. When the Storm pushed, the Express pushed back harder. And their energy paid off. Windsor’s hard work led them to a 124-122 victory in double overtime. The best-of-five series is now even at two games apiece.

Players came out after the game to cheers from the remaining crowd, who applauded their outstanding feat. 

On the night, Darren Duncan led the way once again with a triple double: 27 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists. Close behind him was Eddie Smith with 25 points and 8 rebounds. Stefan Bonneau had 20 points, Greg Surmacz had 15 points and Mike Helms had 14 points.

In the first half, Windsor tried hard to stay in stride with Summerside. The team had some big plays that kept them in the game. They even took a page out of the Storm playbook when Kevin Loiselle set up an alley-oop off the backboard. The Express’ defense held their own; Chris Commons had a couple of blocks (and a couple more throughout the game.) They were strong for the first two quarters, only leaving Summerside up by five at the half. As the teams headed off the court, Windsor was down 51-46. 

The excitement was building now. Windsor’s engines sped up and led to an eventual score takeover. Summerside was close behind though, matching the baskets and battling to regain control of the game. The Express briefly pulled away with a five-point lead of their own, but the Storm followed close behind; one point was the difference in Windsor’s lead. 

Loiselle slammed an “in your face” dunk early in the final quarter. Stefan Bonneau followed it up later with a huge jam of his own. The fans were in a frenzy of enthusiasm. The Storm had taken the lead but the Express were still in the game. Back and forth, the teams took turns sinking key baskets. Unfortunately at this point, Loiselle fouled out. With 26 seconds to go, Summerside was up by one. The visitors added another basket to go up by three. Time was running out when Bonneau landed an incredible and time 3-pointer with 11 seconds. The game was tied at 100 as the teams were set for overtime. 

Like they’d done earlier, in the game and the series, the Storm kept pulling forward. Windsor had fight though, matching Summerside every step of the way. Again, time was ticking down for the Express. Darren Duncan made sure to keep his team into it with a devastating 3-pointer to tie it with 28 seconds left. Shortly after, a steal by Bonneau resulted in a foul and two (successful) free throws from the line. Windsor was up by two, but the Storm hurried down the court and tied it up before the buzzer. The Express and Storm were headed into a second overtime. 

It was down to the wire once more at the WFCU Centre. Neither team was backing down. The Expressed pressed forward. They gave Windsor a final push as Duncan drove hard to the net for a lay-up with 8.6 seconds to go. Summerside was out of timeouts and tried one last time to even the score. But to no avail. Windsor held the Storm off in the dying seconds to earn the hard-fought 124-122 victory. 

The team will be heading up to Summerside, P.E.I for game 5 Tuesday, April 2^nd.