And now for the matchup that can confuse those unfamiliar with Atlantic Canadian place names.
St. John’s versus Saint John.
The Saint John Riptide visit Mile One Centre for the first time ever for a pair of weekend National Basketball League of Canada games against the St. John’s Edge.
The teams have squared off on four previous occasions, once in 2017-18 and three times earlier this season, but all those contests were played in southern New Brunswick.
The Edge won two of their three meetings so far this campaign, with one of the victories coming in double overtime.
St. John’s (20-16) enters tonight’s game tied with the London Lightning for first place in the Central Division and needing just one more victory to clinch a playoff spot.
Saint John (14-21) is in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, but even though its record and place in the standings are much different from the Edge’s, it too is close to securing a post-season berth. In fact, depending on results for the fifth-place Island Storm, the Riptide could claim a spot in the playoffs with wins over St. John’s tonight and Sunday 2 p.m. at Mile One.
Court notes
With his 33 points in Wednesday’s win over the K-W Titans at Mile One Centre, Glen Davis is now the leading scorer, by average, for the Edge. The former NBAer has averaged 16.5 points per game in his 26 appearances with St. John’s. That puts him just ahead of Dez Lee (16.4), who has suited up in all 36 of the team’s games this season … The Edge have sent out a notice saying there are tickets in circulation for Sunday’s game that incorrectly list the start time as 7 p.m. As with all Sunday games, it’s an afternoon contest, with a 2 p.m. start … The Riptide are led in scoring by Baylor product TJ Maston and former University of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun Frank Bartley, each averaging 19.3 ppg …