Playing at home for the first time in two weeks, the St. John's Edge could not capitalize on their home court advantage as the team dropped a 101-86 game to the London Lightning Saturday evening.
The team burst out of the gate red hot in front of the home crowd, as Ryan Reid made the first basket of the game and the Edge remained strong to take a 27-21 lead into the end of the first quarter.
London found its game late in the second quarter as the team put up 30 points, despite St. John's limiting Royce White to just four points. The Lightning would take a one point, 51-50 lead into halftime.
One guy in particular that has been impressive so far in the post-season for the St. John's Edge has been Desmond Lee. At halftime, Associate Head Coach Steve Marcus said of Lee, "He's our best rebounding guard, offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, and he's shooting the ball really well in the playoffs, it's something to look for in the second half."
Both teams continued to go shot-for-shot in the third quarter, separated by only four points heading into the final frame. However, London would take control of the contest in the fourth quarter, making key shots and capitalizing on St. John's missed opportunities to outscore the Edge 27-16 en route to victory.
St. John's Edge:
Carl English, St. John's Edge player of the game led the way with a game-high 25 points with five rebounds and two assists. Desmond Lee registered a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Defensively, Charles Hinkle stepped up scoring 8 points with two blocks and two steals.
London Lightning:
Royce White led the London Lightning with a team-high 24 points, adding five rebounds and nine assists. Kyle Johnson added 22 points for London accompanied by five rebounds.
Inside the Numbers
St. John's went 29-for-77 (37 percent) from the field-goal line, the club also scored 38 points inside the paint. The Lightning went 9-for-31 (29 percent) from the three-point line and scored 37 points off the bench.
Up Next
The best-of-seven series continues at Mile One Centre for Games Four and Five beginning on Monday night at 7:00PM NST. All games will be streamed live on www.sjedge.ca.
Edge Playoff Tickets are now available and can be purchased in person at the Mile One Centre box office, by phone at 709-576-7657 or online at www.mileonecentre.com. Group rates are available and can be obtained by contacting Kenny O'Leary at Kenny@sjedge.ca.
