Doug Plumb admits his St. John’s Edge squandered an opportunity to roll into London, Ont., and snatch victory from the two-time defending champion Lightning in their home opener Sunday, but the Edge coach prefers to look at the positives following a 107-103 loss.
“We had multiple opportunities to win,” Plumb said of the Edge’s first game of the 2018-19 National Basketball League of Canada campaign.
“But you what know what? We only lost by four, despite missing 15 layups, and we were missing the league’s MVP (Carl English), plus we hadn’t played any exhibition games.
“And the best thing about this league is there are 40 games.”
It was the first of two road games for the Edge to kick off a new season. The second is scheduled for Wednesday night in Windsor, Ont.. against the Express before St. John’s returns to Mile One Centre for its home opener Friday against the Moncton Magic.
The Edge are without English, who didn’t accompany the team to Ontario. English had a medical procedure on his ankle just a couple of weeks ago in Toronto, and his start date was pushed back a week as a precautionary measure.
“We couldn’t keep them off the offensive glass. We didn’t show any killer instinct. We must have missed 15 layups. Anytime you’re on the road, you need things to go your way. There were a couple of calls that didn’t go our way, and that’s what sometimes happens when you’re on the road.”
— St. John’s Edge head coach Doug Plumb
The Edge trailed 47-46 at halftime against London, which might be considered an arch-rival having defeated St. John’s in last year’s Eastern Conference final. However, the visitors were leading by 11 with four minutes to go in the second quarter.
But a “comedy of errors” — Plumb’s words — of turnovers and missed shots allowed London to grab the lead heading to the break.
“We couldn’t keep them off the offensive glass. We didn’t show any killer instinct,” Plumb said. “We must have missed 15 layups.
“Anytime you’re on the road, you need things to go your way. There were a couple of calls that didn’t go our way, and that’s what sometimes happens when you’re on the road.”
Still, the Edge were able to tie the game with just under a minute remaining, but were unable to pull away for the win.
Vancouver’s Diego Kapelan, who just joined the squad last week, led the Edge with 22 points, going six-for-nine from three-point range.
Dez Lee, one of just three returnees from last year’s squad (English and Jarryn Skeete are the others), scored 29 and pulled down 14 rebounds and Maurice Jones had 16 off the bench, to go with seven rebounds and eight assists. Todd Brown contributed with 13 points against London.
Last Friday, just two days prior to the season-opener, the Edge parted ways with one of their heralded off-season signings, former NBL Canada regular season and playoff MVP Gabe Freeman.
Freeman was at the Edge’s media day last Wednesday, taking part on the team’s promotional photo shoots and video tapings which will be used throughout the season.
The 6-6 forward, a 32-year-old veteran, is the league’s all-time leading rebounder. He was the Saint John Riptide’s leading scorer last season when he left New Brunswick midway through the year for Baghdad and a team in Iraq's top professional league.
In a text message to The Telegram Saturday morning, Plumb said Freeman, “was just not a fit for both parties.”
Sunday evening, following the season-opener, Plumb added, “there are certain things you can’t compromise. We’ve done a great job of putting together a group that meshes well.
“We didn’t feel there was a fit in with the type of people we have here.”
Freeman’s spot on the roster has been taken by Jared Nickens, who had been on the reserve list.
Nickens had nine points and three rebounds against the Lightning Sunday.
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