Awarded at the start and rewarded at the end.
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Awarded at the start and rewarded at the end.
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Windsor Express captain Latin Davis accepted the Basketball Super League MVP award before Tuesday’s playoff game and then dominated the second half to help his team advance to the league final.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Davis said the MVP award. “They kept me humble all year and they kept me going. They gave me a platform to be a leader for this team. I couldn’t have done it without them, so it’s a blessing to win the award.”
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Davis scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Express pulled away for a 96-84 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans before a crowd of 1,899 at the WFCU Centre.
“I would say that’s our most complete game that we played since the beginning of the series,” said guard Markus Golder, whose hustle sparked the Express. “It was a tremendous effort.”
With the win, the second-seeded Express captured the best-of-five BSL semifinal series 3-2 and will now face the top-seeded Sudbury Five in the final. Game 1 of that best-of-five series is Thursday in Sudbury.
“Great feeling,” Express head coach Bill Jones said of Tuesday’s win. “Obviously, when you get into a situation like this, you’re anxious, a little nervous, but once the game started you do your job. We did a good job of executing, calling plays and rebounding.”
The Express had to play the game without centre Vincent Boumann, who was handed a one-game suspension along with the Titans’ big man Jaquan Lightfoot for their actions at the end of Game 4.
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Six-foot-nine Lydell Elmore stepped into the starting lineup and paced the Windsor offence with 22 points while pulling down nine rebounds.
“I just approached it like every other game,” Elmore said. “Go out and be ready to help my teammates out. I was ready to go.”
His eight points in the opening quarter helped keep the Express within striking distance of the Titans and then hustle plays in the second quarter enabled Windsor to grab a six-point advantage at the half.
“We wanted to win all four quarters,” Davis said. “Obviously, we didn’t win that first quarter, but led at the halftime and we kept the lead. We talked about staying locked in.”
Golder got the bench jumping when he dove on the floor to force a jump ball. He then hustled back on defence to block a layup attempt from behind. In the third quarter, his steal under the basket turned into a layup for two of his 12 points in the game.
“We just weren’t going to let up,” Golder said. “There’s a passion for the game and when stakes are as high as they were (Tuesday), you’re willing to put your life on the line for it and kind of attacking.”
Guard Xavier Turner added 12 points off the bench for Windsor while Mike Bruce chipped in with 10 points.
“We talked bout going out and trying to get a championship,” Jones said. “It’s the 10-year anniversary of our last one. We own our own path and destiny to go up there and get it.”
jpparker@postmedia.com
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