Hurricanes crush Highlanders to advance to division final

The Halifax Hurricanes advanced to their fourth-consecutive NBL Canada Atlantic Division Finals on Saturday night at Scotiabank Centre by blowing out the Cape Breton Highlanders 121-76.

After a close first quarter, the Hurricanes erupted in the second quarter, more than doubling the Highlanders 34-16. They did it again in the third quarter, outscoring Cape Breton 38-16. The Hurricanes went up by 50 early in the fourth quarter and cruised to the finish line. 

The Hurricanes shot the lights, with 56.8 per cent from the floor and 45.2 per cent from beyond the arc and assisted on almost 30 per cent of their made field goals. 

Mike Poole put up another elite performance for Halifax, scoring a game-high 27 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. 

Terry Thomas was right behind him with a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

Joel Kindred poured in 20 points off the bench, hitting four of six from three. 

Jordan Washington and Rhamel Brown each finished with 10 points and Tyler Thornton had a game-high seven assists to go with seven points off the bench. 

The Highlanders' star player Bruce Massey only scored 15 points after dropping 33 on Halifax last Wednesday. 

The Hurricanes will meet the top-seeded Moncton Magic next week in Atlantic Division Finals! Dates for the best of seven series will be announced next week on HalifaxHurricanes.ca and social media, with the first two games being played in Moncton.