Hurricanes head home after heartbreaking Game 7 loss

MONCTON, N.B. —The Halifax Hurricanes and the fans in attendance in Moncton had to pick their hearts up off the floor on Sunday as a fantastic comeback effort ended in defeat for the Hurricanes, as they fell to the Moncton Magic 85-82 in Game 7 of the NBL Canada Atlantic Division Finals.

The Hurricanes hit only two shots from the floor in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 17, but still came back to steal the lead from Moncton in the fourth as the two rivals traded leads throughout the final minutes of a game that saw the score tied and the leads switched hands six times each.

Down by three, with only a second remaining, the Hurricanes could not make the game-tying basket to force overtime.

Terry Thomas carried the offensive load once again for the Hurricanes, finishing with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, going two of five from three and hitting all eight of his free throws.

Fellow starting wing Mike Poole struggled to find his offence early, scoring just one point in the first two quarters before finishing the game with 13 points on the night.

NBL Canada Defensive Player of the Year Rhamel Brown put forth a gutsy 10-point 11-rebound double-double and blocked two shots.

No other Hurricane scored in double figures in the contest and as a team, they only converted on 33.8 per cent of their shots.

The Halifax Hurricanes were one of the best teams in the league in the 2018-19 season, finishing with the second-best record in the entire league behind Moncton and were red hot since the start of the New Year, going 17-7 to finish their regular season.

In the playoffs, the Hurricanes handled the Cape Breton Highlanders three games to two in the first round, before clashing with Moncton for seven games in the second round.