Breaking Down The Boxscore - RAINMEN 107, MILLRATS 99

RAINMEN 107, MILLRATS 99
Rainmen record: 5W - 1L

Make it five wins in a row.  Halifax rung up another win and this time it was on the road against the Manchester Millrats.  From the boxscore, it looked like it was tight knit battle until Halifax's Jevohn Shepherd made a few key baskets in the final quarter.  Shepherd scored 9 of his 14 points  in the fourth including a jumper that put the Rainmen up seven with 5:43 to play.  The Rainmen were down by one point at the end of the third until Halifax pulled out the win in the final quarter, 107-99.

Tony Bennett led the Rainmen with 25 pts, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Eric Crookshank finished with the double double with 12 pts and 12 rebounds.

For the Millrats, Anthony Anderson led all scorers with 27 points.

Let's break down the boxscore...

Key Notes:

• Glaring Stat of the Night:  The Rainmen had great bench production from guys like Shepherd, DeLeon and Gallimore.  Halifax's bench scored 44 of the Rainmen's 107 points.
• Big Three: Manchester had three players with 20+ pts: Anthony Anderson (27 pts), Dwight Brewington (24 pts) and Alexus Foyle (20 pts)
• Fourth Quarter:  Rainmen pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Manchester 26-17
• Offnight for Moneyball: Desmond Ferguson had an offnight against his former squad, only shooting 2 for 11, "Moneyball" finished with 9 pts
• Decent shooting night for Halifax - 59.8% from the field
• "Baby Strick": DeAndre Thomas was a DNP for this game
• Hat-tip to the Millrats:  Dwight Brewington 24 pts, 10 rebounds, 2 steals
• Canadian Watch:  Jevohn Shepherd 14 pts, 2 reb, Garry Gallimore 8 pts, 4 rebounds
• Movin' On Up: Halifax now sits second in the standings, right behind Puerto Rico who are 5-0

Post Game Links:

OurSportsCentral.com
RainmenBasketball.ca

"Both teams proved to be evenly matched with the score knotted at 24 after one. The Millrats relied mostly on their half court game to generate their offense in the first. In the half court, Manchester crashed the boards and took advantage of their second-chance opportunities. They were led by Alexus Foyle, who cleaned the glass with a couple of put-backs on his way to registering eight first-quarter points."

"The win improves the Rainmen to 5-1 on the season, lifts them into second place in the league, and puts them in a three-way battle for top spot in the league with two undefeated teams. The league-leading Puerto Rico Capitanes are 5-0 and the Rochester Razorsharks sit right behind the Rainmen at 4-0."

The Rainmen continue on the road as they play the Puerto Rico Capitanes in Puerto Rico this Thursday.  Will the Rainmen make it six straight?  Let us know and post your comments!

Romy Aquino covers the pro basketball game (the Canadian Flavour of the NBA, the PBL's Halifax Rainmen) from a fan's perspective.  He also can be found at NBA hoops blogs, Hip Hoop Junkies (A Member of TheScore.com's Sports Federation) and Hoop Heads North.  Follow him on Twitter: @romyaquino