Express Make History At Colosseum

Hello time traveller!!
This article is 3753 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.

Two teams clashed. One emerged victorious. The Windsor Express battled the London Lightning Wednesday night inside the Colosseum at Caesar’s Windsor. When the dust settled, it was the Express rolling past the visitors. Windsor defeated London 86-78. Windsor has now grabbed the first place spot in the National Basketball League of Canada. 

The game was the first professional basketball game to be played at a casino.

R.J. Wells and Chris Commons returned from injury for the game.

Quinnel Brown and Stefan Bonneau were the leading scorers for the Express, each netting 21 points. Darren Duncan had 14 points and 8 assists, while Kevin Loiselle scored 8 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Chris Commons warmed up the engines with some sweet moves down low to put Windsor up early. Both teams exchanged offense, but the Express maintained their lead. In a time of trouble off a London steal, Darren Duncan raced back to block the Lightning player. As the quarter ticked down, each team scored a respective three-point shot to end it.

Three’s Company

Seven three-point shots were made in the second quarter: 3 for London, and 4 for Windsor.

Commons, once again, got things rolling at the beginning of the quarter, this time with a three-pointer. London responded with two of its own. More big shots followed for both teams as the Express steamed further ahead of the Lightning. On defense, Windsor’s rebounding had greatly improved as well. For good measure, Stefan Bonneau hit a last second three to close out the opening half. Windsor had a colossal 52-31 lead inside the Colosseum.

London was ready to play when it came out for the second half. With some early steals and fortunate bounces, the Lightning went on a 20-9 run. They continued to hit their three-pointers, inching them closer. Windsor was only up by nine after three.

Following a rough start to the second half, the Express began the final quarter on a high note with an alley-oop dunk as Darren Duncan set up Bonneau. Soon after, London tightened up defensively. As a result, their offensive game continued to pick up, as it did in the third. Point by point, the Lightning closed the gap to within three, thanks in part to Tony Bennett. Brown answered the call for Windsor and scored key baskets. In the last few minutes of the game, Kevin Loiselle came up with a giant block from behind. Later, he riled up the fans and acknowledged them as they made plenty of noise for their team.

When the buzzer sounded inside the Coliseum, Windsor was the victor, beating the London Lightning 86-78.

The Express are back in action this Saturday, January 18^th at the WFCU Centre. They welcome the Brampton A’s at 7:00pm.