Doug Herring Jr. put up 26 points for the London Lightning, but it wasn't enough for a good start to the NBLC Finals.
The Lightning fell 119-106 to the Hurricanes Sunday afternoon, before 1,940 fans at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
London played catch-up for much of the game, as Halifax took a slight first-quarter lead. The Lightning was able to keep that lead in check and trail just 56-50 at halftime. The scoring remained relatively close throughout the second half but the Lightning were unable to make any significant effort to close the gap.
Herring also had nine assists and seven rebounds in the game.
Julian Boyd and Ryan Anderson each sank an additional 17 points for London, with Boyd leading the defensive effort with 13 rebounds.
Tyrone Watson and Billy White were the offensive leaders for Halifax, each scoring 29 points. Antoine Mason put in 25 for the Hurricanes. Watson and Rhamel Brown led on defence with 12 boards apiece.
The Lightning will try to pull even with Game 2 on Tuesday night in Halifax. Tip off is 6pm Eastern time.