The St. John’s Edge used balanced scoring and one huge quarter Wednesday night in Windsor, Ont., to become the first National Basketball League of Canada team to advance past the opening round of the playoffs.
Four Edge players scored 20 or more points as St. John’s downed the Windsor Express 124-117 to sweep their Central Division semifinal.
The Express led 33-21 after the opening quarter, but the Edge closed to within one point by halftime and then went on a tear after the mid-game break, scoring 44 points in the third quarter. Windsor rallied a bit in the final stanza, but not enough to extend its season.
Charles Hinkle led St. John’s with 24 points, while Carl English added 21 and Ryan Reid and Wally Ellenson each had 20 for the Edge.
Ellenson contributed to a great effort from the St. John’s bench players, who outscored their Windsor counterparts 41-25.
Maurice Jones of the Express led all scorers with 37 points, while Logan Stutz and Shaquille Keith each had 19.
Reid and Desmond Lee each had seven rebounds for the Edge, who will face either the defending champion London Lightning or the Niagara River Lions in the divisional final.
The Lightning lead that matchup 2-1 heading into Game 4 Friday night in St. Catharines, Ont.
All series from this point will be best-of-seven affairs.
Twitter: @telybrendan
