SAINT JOHN — The Summerside Storm came up with a big 114-97 victory Friday at Harbour Station against the Saint John Mill Rats.
It was Summerside’s fifth game against the division rivals, winning two of the first four matchups.
The Storm opened up the scoring, taking a 4-0 lead, before Saint John managed to tie the game up at 10, but that’s as close as they got, the Storm quickly went on a 9-0 run to get a 19-10 first quarter lead.
Summerside continued their stong play in the second quarter, breaking out to a double-digit lead. Chris Cayole ended the half on a high note and gave his team more momentum going into the locker room with a three-point bucket before the buzzer and gave his team a 55-35 lead.
The Mill Rats came out of halftime strong and went on a run to pull within 13 points after a three-pointer by Jerice Crouch.
The two teams began trading baskets midway through the third until Saint John found a spark and managed to cut Summerside’s lead to 11 going into the final quarter.
The Mill Rats tried to shake Summerside’s offence by applying pressure but the Storm was able to break down their defence and didn't look back from there, they ended the game on a run and improve to 12-9 (win-loss) on the season, dropping the Mill Rats to 11-10 and moving into first in the tough Atlantic Division.
The Storm were led offensively by Antonio Ballard and Chris Cayole, both with 23. Jerice Crouch had a big night but was unable to get a win with a 28-point effort.
The Storm’s next game is Sunday at 2 p.m.against the Miracles in Moncton.
