SAINT JOHN, N.B. – The Saint John Riptide closed the gap with the Island Storm for third place in the Atlantic Division by recording a home victory Thursday in the Port City.
The Riptide snapped a four-game losing skid and ended the Storm’s eight-game winning streak with a 118-96 victory.
Aly Ahmed had 22 points and 13 rebounds while Aaron Redpath chipped in 21 points off the bench to pace the Riptide in National Basketball League of Canada action.
Chris Anderson had 26 points and Carl Hall 20 to lead a Storm squad down to nine dressed players due to injuries to Chris Johnson, Tyler Scott and Meshack Lufile.
Kemy Osse scored 16 points, hauled in nine rebounds and dished out 11 assists for the visitors while Franklin Session had 14 points on 2-of-13 shooting, 10 dimes, seven boards, three stelas and two blocks in 37 minutes. Du’Vaughn Maxwell had 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds.
Saint John outshot the Island squad, knocking down 53 per cent of its field goals compared to the Storm’s 38 per cent. The Riptide went 15-for-24 (63 per cent) from behind the arc compared to 8-for-34 (24 per cent) by the Storm.
The Riptide held quarter leads of 25-13, 63-43 and 84-67. They improved to 17-17 while the Storm falls to 18-17.
The teams play Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre and back in Saint John, N.B., on Tuesday.
