Lightning beat Titans in thrilling preseason overtime finish

London Lightning head coach Kyle Julius (middle) speaks to his team prior to their preseason game against the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont. on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016.
Photo Credit: London Lightning Basketball Facebook Page

The London Lightning beat the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans yesterday in a preseason overtime thriller.

The Lightning defeated the Titans 123-112 at home in a game which was close for much of the way. It was also was seen by some as a Julius family battle between London head coach Kyle Julius and his father Stu, general manager for Kitchener-Waterloo.

The duo had coached together for the Mississauga Power in 2014-15 season - now the Raptors 905 in the NBA Development League - and in London last year.

"It's not a great feeling (playing against him) because I'm so used to being with him on the sidelines and helping us," said Kyle after the victory. "He has such a great eye for the game and he was always helping us ... but it's professional basketball. You have to focus on the task at hand and you have to execute day in and day out no matter what the circumstances."

Both organizations used the game as a way to make final adjustments to their rotations for the start of the National Basketball League of Canada regular season.

"I thought it was good for our first game. I feel I learned a lot and exactly what I think we need to work on," said Kyle. "It wasn't a great performance. It wasn't a horrible performance, but we can be way better. I think it was a good starting point."

The Titans were able to close any lead the Lightning had throughout the game despite being out-rebounded by 16 at one point. Kitchener-Waterloo was able to keep the game tied until the fourth quarter, when London took a 11-point lead with nine minutes to go in regulation.

NBLC veteran Adam Blazek and rookie Orlando Coleman then led to the expansion franchise down the stretch offensively to tie the preseason match-up with 38 seconds to go.

Lightning forward Garrett Williamson soon scored five quick points - including a three-point play - to help lead his club to the victory.

"We didn't shoot it well at all," said Titans head coach Serge Langis. "At the same time, we showed a lot of grit and showed a lot of intangibles that are very important for a successful season to happen. The guys stayed together and stayed positive and stayed determined and focused."

Langis said his team did not make as many three-point shots as they hoped. He also said "everyone needs to step up" for their rebounding. He felt the Titans gave London too many second-chance opportunities because of that.

Stu said prior to the game he was looking to build his roster similar to what the Lightning have done.

"I was proud of the way we played and battled," said Stu. "We're fairly young. We have a lot of guys who have never played in the league before and some veterans. I think we made our share of mistakes which when you play a good veteran team, you will be penalized, which is what happened ... To take these guys into overtime for the first time for our guys is pretty good."

Kyle also had issues with his roster's play. He felt the Lightning did not play good defense or have good transition play throughout the game. Kyle said he feels those issues will sort themselves out as the year goes on.

"I think it's just the matter of figuring out a bit better of a rotation and working through that a bit," said Kyle. "I think when you look at it all, we're right on track to have a good season and play well."

Langis said that despite the team not executing like he hoped, he feels the team is on the right track.

"I'm really happy with what we got," said Langis. "We're only going to get better as the season goes on ... I'm interested in getting this season going and how the cards fall."

Kyle and Stu both said their teams will not make any roster changes for the regular season compared to their lineups yesterday.

The Lightning will play their next preseason game against the Windsor Express this Wednesday at the St. Clair College SportsPlex. Tip-off time is 7 p.m. EST.