The St. John’s Edge, coming off a very successful first season last year, made a much-anticipated 2018-19 home-court debut Friday at Mile One Centre, but couldn’t come away with a win against the Moncton Magic, despite the support from a near sell-out crowd of 6,080.
The Edge saw their record fall to 1-2 in the early going of the National Basketball League of Canada season with a 95-91 loss to the Moncton Magic.
The loss comes on the heels of a season-opening road trip that saw the Edge lose 107-103 in their first game in London, Ont. against the Lightning, before derailing the Express 113-86 in Windsor, Ont.
The Edge saw the return of reigning league MVP Carl English to the lineup Friday. English, who didn’t make the road trip, scored 11 points and registered five assists in 32 minutes of playing time.
Maurice Jones scored a game high 17 points, and Todd Brown sank 16 off the bench. Keith Wright Jr. netted 12.
The teams were even-steven after the first and second quarters, tied 18-18 and 17-17. However, Moncton put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring their hosts 38-25.
Edge coach Doug Plumb sat out the second game of his two-game league suspension for player tampering. Assistant coach Steve Marcus ran the St. John’s bench for the second straight game.
The teams meet again 3:30 Sunday afternoon at Mile One.
