Looking for wins, Lightning face American foes

Will a pair of TBL opponents cure what ails the Lightning? With three losses in their last four, London hosts the Kokomo Bobkats and Jamestown Jackals at home this week.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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It was a better effort than the previous matchup, but the London Lightning lost for a second straight time against the Sudbury Five last Sunday, giving them three losses in their last four games. It’s hardly the type of stretch you’d expect from a team that won nine in a row, from Feb. 4 to March 4, and boasted a record of 13-2 less than three weeks ago.

But London has, indeed, hit a rough patch. Perhaps the cracks started to show in that ninth win in a row. It was an ugly affair (35% shooting from the field), in which they managed to come away with a 97-89 win in Kitchener in their first matchup of the season against the Titans. They won, but they certainly looked beatable.

And since then, they have been. The Lightning are 1-3 in their last four, including losing to the Titans in a rematch March 12, being manhandled by the Five on home court March 15, and dropping another one to the Five, last Sunday, in a road contest in Sudbury.

Sunday’s loss was far from the defeat they were delivered the week before (they shot 47 percent, including an impressive 53.7 percent from three-point range), but they were outplayed down the stretch, and the Five, who shot 54 percent overall and turned the ball over just three times, deserved to win the contest.

“We went through a very tough week,” Lightning head coach Doug Plumb told Gameday London, referring not only to the losses but to some frustration off the court. “But every team does every year. Records may not always indicate what’s happening behind the scenes, but over the course of the season it’s like a family. Things get old, and you get annoyed. You have to hash it out like grown men and get on the same page.”

Plumb says he’s confident the team is back on the same page after a good week of workouts and some time for the players to reflect on their loss of first place in the standings. “I fully expect us to play with fire and conviction going forward, regardless of who we play,” the coach said.

Who they’ll play first are a pair of opponents from The Basketball League (TBL) this week, beginning Thursday night (vs. Kokomo Bobkats) and then Saturday (vs. Jamestown Jackals).

These are the first American opponents London has seen this season. They’ve beaten the Newfoundland Rogues, a Canadian-based TBL team, five times this year, including a four-game sweep in Newfoundland early in the season, but they’ve yet to face an American squad.

UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Thursday (March 23, 7:30pm) vs. Kokomo Bobkats (5-1, 2nd in TBL Upper Midwest Conference)

The Bobkats are riding a four-game win streak in March, including, most recently, a two-game sweep of the Kalamazoo Galaxy (who the Lightning will see April 21 & 22 at home). Kokomo has been led by Derek Hawthorne, who has poured in 29.5 points per game in the team’s first six TBL contests this year (tied for sixth overall in the TBL). That includes back-to-back 33-point efforts in their recent two wins against the Galaxy. After Hawthorne, the remaining offense is spread out, with three others averaging double digits in points – Devin Harris (12.3), Larry Plummer (11.0) and Tremont Moore (10.2). Moore and Alexis Jackson share the team lead in rebounds (7.3 rpg), while Harris leads in assists (4.2) and Hawthorne in steals (2.2).

The Bobkats are a young team, with an average age of 25 years old. Against NBLC opponents this year? They’ve yet to play against a Canadian squad this year, and Thursday’s matchup will mark their first such contest.

Saturday (March 25, 7:30pm) vs. Jamestown Jackals (1-5, 6th in TBL Upper Midwest Conference)

The Jackals haven’t had the same fortune as the Bobkats so far, sporting a 1-5 record thus far in TBL play. And yet, their lone win of the season? It came against Kokomo. Jamestown took down the Bobkats 103-95 back on March 5. The Jackals got a balanced scoring effort in that one, with six different players – Isaac Medeiros Belovitch (16), Tafari Beckford (15), Ryan Montoya (13), Brandon McGhee (12), Charles Nedd-Araujo (12), and Dante Law (11) – scoring in double figures.

On the year, Beckford leads with 13.5 points per game in six contests. In other words, the story of the season has been spread-out scoring for the Jackals. Daniel Mulamba leads Jamestown with 8.2 rebounds per game, while Calvin Cheek has an eye-popping four steals per contest (tied for fourth overall in the TBL).

Against NBLC opponents? The Jackals are also making their 2023 debut against their Canadian counterparts this weekend. After they face the Lightning, they’ll head to Kitchener Sunday to take on the Titans. Next month, they’ll host a two-game series against Sudbury April 22 & 23.

Mareik Isom is averaging 15.4 points (third-most on the team) in 14 games for the Lightning this season. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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London leaders

Scoring leader Jordan Burns led the Lightning with 31 points in a losing effort in their most recent game last Sunday. He’s tops on the team with 19.6 points per game in 16 contests, which ranks fourth in the league. Terry Thomas, at 16.5 ppg, is eighth in the league, while Mareik Isom (15.4) is just outside the top 10.

Isom has been the most efficient of the bench, shooting 50.4 percent overall. His 46.0 percent mark from three-point range is second best in the league among those with over four attempts per game. Lightning guard Lance Adams is third best when the threshold is moved to three-plus attempts per game (47.9%).

They’re not the only ones with good shooting percentages. Cameron Lard’s 60.6 mark is second in the league among regulars, while Mike Nuga (52.7% ranks fourth among players averaging eight or more shot attempts per game.

Watch for Amir Williams to join the team’s shooting leaders. The newly-signed centre, who scored 15 points in his debut last Sunday, made six of his eight shots. Last year with the Lightning, Williams, named to the NBLC’s All-League First Team, shot 64.4% in 27 games overall, including playoffs.

Williams should also emerge as a leader in rebounding, as he averaged 8.9 per game last season. Currently, London’s leader is Thomas, who’s grabbed 7.6 boards per game in 13 contests so far this season (third best in the league). Lard is second at 6.6 rebounds, while Elijah Lufile is next at 6.4 per contest.

And assists? Burns is the far-and-away leader at 8.6 per game. That’s more than twice as many as the next highest players in the league, Sudbury’s A.J. Mosby and Windsor’s Latin Davis (4.2).