In the end. this one was about the starters.
The St. John’s Edge got nearly 90 percent of their scoring from the five players in their starting lineup as they downed the Cape Breton Highlanders 102-95 in National Basketball League of Canada action in Sydney. N.S., Tuesday night.
The New Year’s Day result put the Edge (8-6) back in the victory column after seeing a six-game winning streak snapped in a Sunday loss to the Halifax Hurrricanes in the Nova Scotia capital.
Maurice Jones led St. John’s with 26 points, while Dez Lee has 23, his sixth straight game with 20 or more points.
Junior Cadougan had a season-high 18 points for St. John’s, while fellow starters Keith Wright (12) and Obinna Oleka (10) also scored in double figures.
Oleka’s game-high 13 rebounds gave him his fourth double-double in his seven games with St. John’s.
DeShaunt Walker, with 24 points, and Chris Johnson, with 19, were the top scorers for Cape Breton (9-6) in the game, which was tied 51-51 at the half.
All of the Edge starters played 32 or more minutes.
The St. John’s bench, which had already been thinned by the absence of star guard Carl English, placed in injured reserve, was further reduced when former NBAer Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis did not play Tuesday.
However, Davis did participate in the warm-up and was on the bench, an indication that the big man — who is still working his way into game shape — was given a night off in the midst of what is a very tough road trip for the Edge.
St. John’s plays Thursday night in Saint John, N.B., against the Riptide, on Friday versus the Island Storm in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and then head back to Sai John to face the Riptide on Sunday afternoon.
