Lightning scratch out win in home opener

The Lightning finally returned to Budweiser Gardens Saturday, and they earned a come-from-behind win — in somewhat improbable fashion — to the delight of the hometown fans.

Cameron Forte’s 32 points led the Lightning in their 104-90 home-opening win Saturday over the KW Titans. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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If you were counting, it was 724 days between games for the London Lightning at Budweiser Gardens.

So much changed over the last two years – including an entire wiped out season for London’s basketball team due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Saturday night, though, it was clear one thing hadn’t changed. Just as he was on March 11, 2020, Cameron Forte was the best player on the court on March 5, 2022. Some things, as they say, remain the same.

It was Forte, after all, who racked up 41 points in that final game two years ago (a win over Sudbury) before the sports world went on pandemic hiatus. And it was Forte who poured in a game-high 32 points with nine rebounds Saturday in London’s 104-90 win over the KW Titans in the team’s 2022 home opener.

Forte even bookended the 724-day stretch, tallying the last London basket in 2020 and the first in 2022. On Saturday, that first bucket was a layup 1:08 into the game. It brought the first scoring cheers from the hometown fans.

Head-scratchingly, they were the only scoring cheers for the first five minutes of the game.

Despite their excitement to play in front of the home fans for the first time, the new-look Lightning came out extremely flat Saturday – and the KW Titans came out on fire. At the 5:04 mark of the first quarter, in fact, it seemed London was destined for its first loss of the season. They trailed 24-2.

But these games are long, and the Lightning found a way to claw their way back. It took awhile, but with four and a half minutes left in the third quarter, London took its first lead of the game, 61-59. It was a slow – and yet drastic – turn of events for the Lightning, who outscored the Titans 32-19 in the frame.

With the game tied 79-79 in the fourth, the Lightning began to pull away with just over seven and a half minutes remaining. It was a Terry Thomas layup that got things started, and the defense clamped down even more, forcing multiple KW turnovers which London turned into scores.

A Thomas three-pointer put the Lighting ahead by nine, and then Jaylon Tate came to life. Cold earlier in the game, the point guard buried 11 fourth-quarter points, including a three-pointer with 2:24 left that was the dagger for the Titans. It prompted Tate to raise his arms in celebration, which prompted the crowd to cheer, and prompted everyone in the building to realize that the shot was the clincher in the comeback victory. It extended the lead to 17 for the Lightning, who improved to 3-0 on the year.

“We knew the shots weren’t falling for us, so we had to pick it up on defense,” said Tate in a postgame interview about the team’s slow start Saturday. “Once we started going on defense, and getting stops and getting in transition, we started getting our rhythm on offense. I think that’s what we need to do from the beginning of the game, and that’s something we’re going to key in on.”

Tate finished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He swiped three of London’s impressive 17 steals on the night, a key stat that helped the Lightning get back in the game (Chris Jones and Forte — in addition to his big offensive night — each had five steals apiece).

“I think it started with Cameron Forte. He was great on offense tonight, but his defensive energy in the second half is what sparked us to get this win tonight,” said Tate.

Lightning coach Doug Plumb credited Chris Jones with being the defensive difference-maker.

“I thought he was an absolute world beater today. He didn’t have it going offensively, and we were a bit stagnant, with guys not executing our style. Instead of sitting there and complaining about the situation, Chris decided to do something about it – and do it with energy. I thought his tenacity on the ball … he was an absolute dog. He inspired our guys. He invigorated the guys with energy, and it was contagious.”

After back-to-back 24-point games to start the season, Jones scored only 10 points in the home opener, but he contributed elsewhere, grabbing five rebounds and the aforementioned five steals while handing out a game-high eight assists.

Lightning guard Chris Jones. (Matt Hiscox Photography).

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It was the Forte-Thomas show on offense, with the latter posting his second straight double-double (21 points, 11 rebounds) and, similar to Jones, providing energy to a sluggish Lightning squad. Forte’s 32 was a season high so far.

“Cam just has a knack … some guys have a knack for right time, right place. He’s a natural, gifted scorer, and he’s definitely saved us to this point, because I don’t think we’ve played great basketball yet by any means,” said Plumb. “When you got a guy like Cam, it gives you a little bit of a buffer, because even if the game’s ugly, he’s still producing.”

It was ugly Saturday. Let’s not sugarcoat it. Despite the comeback, the Lighting shot poorly. The bright spot, perhaps, was 56 points in the paint (20 more than the Titans), but London shot poorly from everywhere else – including making just six of 25 three-point attempts, an issue that’s been ongoing thus far.

“We need to get some shooting, and we’re going to bring it in. I have to,” said Plumb. “We have to shoot the ball better, for sure. To win a game where you go 6-for-25 from three … when we play Sudbury, that’s not happening. They’ll just blow the game open with threes. So, we need to be able to hit, you know, 15 threes a game.”

As for the slow start? Plumb joked in a postgame interview that perhaps he needs to watch some old highlights of the wrestler Ric Flair before giving his pregame speeches to inject more energy into the team.

“I don’t know what to do. We come out of the gates and we’re stale. Then, over the course of the game, we figure it out. But we’re trying to put together a full game here. We need to have more of a killer instinct.”

What the Lightning have lacked for slow starts and poor shooting is their ‘grit’ and conditioning in the early going. That was certainly on display Saturday, as the Titans noticeably tired in the second half, while London stepped up its defense and outhustled the opposition. That’s no mistake.

“We take pride in how hard we train,” said Plumb. “We’re working like dogs across the board. I say to these guys, it will pay dividends. We’re on the court or watching film for five to six hours a day, five to six days a week. I think the work will show. When you wear people down, it becomes a war of attrition over the course of the game.”

London won the war of attrition Saturday. Their conditioning will certainly be tested over the next eight days as they play four more times – all at home, including a very quick turnaround 2 p.m. game Sunday against their first American opponent of the season – the Lansing Pharoahs.

But Plumb and the team are excited to be back at it. Back playing real basketball games in front of the home fans at Budweiser Gardens. They got their first taste of that Saturday night.

“It was weird, to be honest. In a good way. It felt like no time had passed,” Plumb said. “It feels like two years that just went by in the blink of an eye, and then here we are again. It was great to see everybody.

“I told the guys before the game, ‘look, we’re coming out of a pandemic, people are still a little bit hesitant, tickets just went on sale, but let’s play the game the right way. Let’s play an exciting brand of basketball and let’s be tough. Let’s show the fans that this is a product worth watching and they’ll get behind us.’”