Express Strike First, Win 105-97
Wednesday March 5th, 2014, 8:12am
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Windsor got a bit of a scare from the Mississauga Power. The Power showed the Express why they made it to the first round by putting up a close one against the number one team in Canada. When it came down to it, though, the Express handled their business. As a unit, they powered through Mississauga in Game 1, and were victorious 105-97.
Chris Commons put up 29 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for Windsor, while Quinnel Brown scored 19 points. Stefan Bonneau netted 15 points and Kevin Loiselle had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Mississauga’s biggest offensive threat came in Morgan Lewis, who scored a gigantic 35 points for the Power. He was 7/14 on the night with his three-point shots.
Windsor had to fight off an early flurry from the Power, who added a pair of three-pointers for an early 8-2 lead. Kevin Loiselle scored with a one-handed jam, and Quinnel Brown made some good shots, but it was Mississauga escaping the first quarter with the lead.
Brown picked up where he left off from the first. He had 8 points in the previous quarter and continued hitting his baskets. The teams battled back and forth for control but it was Windsor with the momentum. Darren Duncan set up Stefan Bonneau for a shattering alley-oop slam. The Express were ahead 53-44 after two quarters.
Mississauga came out for the second half and hit more three-pointers. The baskets brought the Power closer to the Express. However, standing in their way was DeAndre Thomas. He had a solid third quarter at both ends; slamming the ball and returning down court to hold back the Power’s offense. Windsor was up by six with one quarter to go.
In the first few minutes of the fourth, Chris Commons fought through a crowd down low to dunk the ball. Mississauga fought too, and the Power were narrowing in on Windsor. Lewis continued to make key baskets for the visitors. Duncan responded with a big three of his own to break a tie. On the next drive, Loiselle made a clutch block that allowed Windsor to go up by 5. The lead was small, but significant – the Power couldn’t overcome it. With only seconds on the clock, Bonneau was sent alone down the court for the dunk to end the game. The buzzer sounded and the train horn went off as the Express won Game 1 by a score of 105-97.
Game 2 of the Best-of-5 series is set for tonight (Wednesday, March 5th) at 7:05pm at the WFCU Centre.