Halifax Bounces Back - RAINMEN 104, CAPITANES 96

RAINMEN 104, CAPITANES 96
Rainmen Record:  10W-5L
Well, this wasn't the battle for first place as it was originally dubbed, but the Puerto Rico Capitanes-Halifax Rainmen matchup still lived up to the hype.  The Rainmen snapped their three-game slump and defeated one of the best teams in the PBL, the Puerto Rico Capitanes 104-96.  Puerto Rico arrived late to the Metro Centre with just about 20 minutes to tip off but still came prepared to play.  The Capitanes had an eight man roster fully equipped with their top guns Elias Ayuso, Angelo Reyes and David Cortes along with newly acquired, Courtney Sims.  For Halifax, the newest face to the team, Larry Turner, got the start at centre.

It was definitely a chippy and physical game which stayed tight until the closing minutes.  Even Eric Gilchrese and Puerto Rico's Rafael Cruz got into a confrontation towards the end of the third quarter causing both benches to run out to the floor.  However, Halifax didn't let Puerto Rico intimidate them and didn't let up for the full 48 minutes.  Halifax pulled away in the final three minutes going on a 12-3 run.

Gary Ervin put on an impressive showing as the quick guard led the Rainmen with 23 points.   Larry Turner looked good in his home debut, hustling down low, finishing with 10 pts, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

For Puerto Rico, Elias Ayuso was unstoppable, scoring 25 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.  The newest Capitane, Courtney Sims had 22 points and the big man, Jeffrion Aubry, finished with the double double (10 points, 13 rebounds)

Shaun "Mavs" Gillis and Ryan Dickison's Player of the Game:
Gary Ervin 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Romy Aquino's Player of the Game:
Desmond Ferguson 15 pts, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Hat-tip to the Capitanes:
Elias Ayuso 25 pts, 6 rebounds and 2 assists

Key Notes:

• Glaring Stat of the Day:  It was definitely a heated matchup between the two teams, I don't know the official numbers but the refs handed out at least 6-7 techs in this one
• Free Throw Improvements:  Another impressive FT shooting performance from Halifax, shooting 81.4% from the charity stripe
• Rebound Battle:  Halifax outrebounded P.R. 59-43
• Double-Double Machine:  Eric Crookshank had his ninth double double of the season with 11 pts and 13 rebounds
• The Home Dominance continues:  Halifax is now 8-0 at home
• Capitanes Sinking:  With Lawton Fort-Sill's win and Puerto Rico's loss on Sunday, Puerto Rico now sits in 2nd place in the PBL 
• In case you missed the game, watch the replay here
• Canadian Watch:  Jevohn Shepherd 1:45 minutes, 1 assist, Garry Gallimore 8 minutes, 1 turnover
• Hecklers Row: The Row was on hand in their Rainmen blue unitards

Next up, the Rainmen go on the road to take on the Maryland Greenhawks on Friday night and come back to Halifax to take on the top team in the league, the Lawton Fort-Sill Cavalry...

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