When the last time these two teams met on November 29th London won 109-95. A much different result this time around. The 1-5 Saint John Riptides came hungry for a win against the team tied for the best record in the league before tonight.
The riptides were led by Frank Bartley who put up a game-high 27 points, to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.
At halftime, the score was a close 51-47 for the Riptides. The second half was a different story as they were outscored 60-40. The Lightning struggled to control the ball, turning it over 18 times in the game.
A positive for the Lightning was the strong play of Marvell Waithe. He went 5-8, tallying 11 points and 4 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play. A genuinely upset Waithe took the post-game to express how he felt and he didn’t hold back.
“I can only control what I can control. I wish I could help my team more. The right people need to start believing in me. “
Aside from his contributions, Waithe felt that the team didn’t commit to winning.
The same defensive emotions were expressed by coach Keith Vassell & Jelan Kendrick.
Another light spot was the play of Jelan Kendrick who put up 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in just his second game of the year.
The Lightning were led on the scoring chart by Marcus Capers and Maurice Bolden who put up 14 & 13 respectively. Moon also scored double digits with 11.
The Lightning doesn’t have time to dwell over the loss because they are back in action tomorrow. London will play host to the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans at 2 PM.
