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Halifax, Novia Scotia- The Strong Island Sound won their fifth consecutive game with a 92-90 comeback win over the Rainmen at the Halifax Metro Center. Trailing by 15 points in the third quarter, the Sound (5-1) went on a 21-4 run and hung on for the victory.

Chad Eichelberger missed a potential game winning three-pointer at the buzzer for Halifax, who have now dropped five in a row after winning their inaugural game. The 6’10” center scored 18 points on the night, but mishandled an inbounds pass with 3.9 seconds remaining and had to rush a final shot, which went off the front rim.

“It wasn’t a set play, but the time was running down so I had to put it up,” Eichelberger told reporters after the game.

Gordon Malone led the Sound with 23 points, and Raphael Edwards had 20. The team made their only trip of the season to Canada, and after arriving at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, were held up in customs for two and a half hours.

“We were a little rattled with what happened at the airport, but we don’t blame any of that stuff on the game,” Malone said to reporters, referring to the team not arriving at the arena until three hours before tip-off. “Halifax is a good team. This wasn’t easy for us.”

An even game at the start, the Sound led by the slimmest of margins at halftime, 51-50. The third quarter began with the Rainmen dominating on defense, highlighted by Kadiri Richard’s six blocks in the period.

When it appeared that Halifax would snap their losing streak, the Sound made their move and took an 82-80 lead in the fourth quarter. With 1:29 to go, the Rainmen went ahead 90-89 after Eichelberger went to the free throw line and made both attempts.

The Sound played aggressively and were able to draw two fouls in the final minute. Edwards and Sean Dantzler made three out of four attempts to put Strong Island ahead for good.

The late surge was not something new to Sound head coach Dytanya Mixson. “So far this season, we’ve been a fourth quarter team,” he said to reporters. “My guys really fought hard. We just stayed together. Our heart and soul went into that game.”

ickets are available at the door and by visiting www.strongislandsound.com.

(Photo by Melissa Catanese)