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Rainmen Snap Mill Rats Win Streak, Canadian Joey Haywood Drops 26!

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Rainmen.jpg vs millrats.jpg

NPH Top Performers

Rainmen

  • Joey Haywood- 26 points

  • Taliek Brown- 18 points, 11 assists


Mill Rats

  • Anthony Anderson- 19 points

  • Will Blalock- 18 points, 6 assists


HALIFAX, NS – The Rainmen took advantage of the road-weary Saint John Mill Rats on Friday night. It was Saint John’s fourth game in five nights on the road, and the fatigue was apparent in the Mill Rats’ play when they showed up in Halifax.  

The Saint John Mill Rats had 22 turnovers which proved to be the main deciding factor in the Mill Rats’ loss at the Halifax Metro Centre. And it didn’t help that Halifax scored 20 points off those turnovers.  

The Rainmen snapped the Saint John Mill Rats’ three-game road winning streak, as they defeated Saint John 122-104.

Last week’s NBL Player of the Week, Joey Haywood, scored 26 points in 29 minutes of play for Halifax. Steve DeLuca had the hot hand for the Saint John Mill Rats, scoring 16 of 22 points in the first half after going 4 for 6 from three-point land.

Mill Rats head coach and former San Antonio Spur, Jaren Jackson, says his team was showing a bit of fatigue going into last night’s game.   

“I think the combination of the travel schedule and the Rainmen’s sustained intense play caught up with us tonight,” Jackson told NPH. 

“We are playing well right now. A little needed rest can help us as we go into our fifth road game in a row, Sunday against Moncton. Congrats to the Rainmen tonight.”

Halifax outscored the Saint John Mill Rats 67-46 in the second and third quarters as the Rainmen held a 21-point lead with just one quarter to play.  

Rainmen point guard, Taliek Brown, had the double double on the night, scoring 18 points and dishing out 11 assists as well as four steals. Saint John chipped away at the lead in the fourth quarter going on a 9-0 run to start the fourth but couldn’t put together an effort to get within striking distance.  


It was the first game without Rodney Buford for the Rainmen, but got an impressive debut from newcomer, Tyrone Levett, the 6’5″ Alabame-native, who was acquired from the London Lightning.  

Levett showed great hustle for the Rainmen who scored 17 points (8-12) in his Rainmen debut.  The other newcomer to the Rainmen, Stevy Worah-Ozimo, was less then impressive in his Halifax debut, picking up 4 quick fouls in just three minutes of play.


For Saint John, the NBL’s leading scorer, Anthony Anderson, had a quiet 19 points, shooting just 31% from the field.  Former Detroit Piston, Will Blalock, scored 18 points and dished out six assists. Jerome Brown, a Toronto native, had the highlight dunk of the night in the fourth quarter, jamming it home over Halifax’s Eric Crookshank, that even got the Halifax fans out of their seats. 

The Mill Rats now move to 3-4 on the season while Halifax moves to 3-2.  The Mill Rats will now play one more road game, against the Moncton Miracles on Sunday afternoon.


The Rainmen go on a two-game road trip and face off against the Oshawa Power on Sunday, November 27th. They return to Halifax on December 4th.


OTHER RAINMEN NEWS:


– Former Halifax Rainmen guard, Rodney Buford, has fit in well with the London Lightning averaging 20.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg in his first two games under new coach, Michael Ray Richardson.

– Another former Rainmen player, Shagari Alleyne, who had a brief stint with the Halifax Rainmen in ’09 was the first overall pick in this year’s PBL draft, the league that the Saint John Mill Rats, Halifax Rainmen and Quebec Kebs were a part of previous to the National Basketball League of Canada. 

–  DeAndre Thomas, the former Rainmen forward who was released by the Rainmen earlier this season, is now a member of the Chicago Redline of the IBA.


Follow Romy Aquino on Twitter @romyaquino


Photo courtesy of the Halifax Chronicle Herald

Romy Aquino

Romy Aquino

Romy Aquino

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