Breaking Down The Boxscore – RAINMEN 112, AIR STRIKERS 106

The Halifax Rainmen were in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday night, facing off against the expansion Dayton Air Strikers.  The last place Air Strikers were on a four-game losing streak heading into this matchup and were looking to secure their first home win of the season.  The Rainmen on other hand, were fresh off of a blowout win against the Kentucky Bluegrass Stallions (winning three of their first four games) and were looking to continue their strong play on the road.  The Rainmen went into Dayton shorthanded, and were without the PBL’s leading rebounder, Eric Crookshank, and head coach, Les Berry.  Assistant coach, Jeff Paris, took the coaching reigns on Wednesday night.

The Air Strikers got an early jump on the Rainmen in the first quarter of the game, putting together a 31-24 first quarter lead.  But the Rainmen wasted no time closing the gap.  Halifax narrowed down Dayton’s lead to just one point at the half.  Taliek Brown and the recently-acquired centre, James “Boo” Jackson, both had 9 points at the mid point.

Dayton kept pace with the Rainmen in the second half, keeping the game close in the third and fourth quarters.  With just over a minute remaining in the final quarter, Dayton had got the game to within three points.  But with a few key free throws made by both Josh Dollard and James “Boo” Jackson in the closing seconds, the Rainmen were able to hold off the Air Strikers with a 112-106 Rainmen win.

Mike Mercer had a strong night, scoring 18 points in just 23 minutes for the Rainmen.    Mercer scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half.   Rainmen point guard, Taliek Brown, was perfect from the field, making 7 for 7 from the floor.  He finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds.  Tajuan Porter had a season-high 12 points, making four threes from behind the arc.