Brian Silverhorn’s return to the Halifax Rainmen lineup from a knee injury couldn’t come soon enough.
The Rainmen have gone ice-cold from long range in his absence, with the Premier Basketball League’s second-worst three-point percentage (.330). Not only that, but they’ve jacked up far more shots than anybody else in the PBL.
Silverhorn was 9-of-15 from beyond the arc before spraining his medial collateral ligament and missing five games. He shot .394 from three-point range in 26 games last season.
“I want to continue shooting the ball like I was before my injury,” Silverhorn said. “I’ll take the shots given to me, but (shooting) is what I like to do. Hopefully I can come right in there, shoot the ball well, and get our percentages back up.”
The Shelbyville, Ky., native said he hasn’t been doing as much practice shooting as he would like, and said his toughest challenge will be finding his “game rhythm.”
The Rainmen (5-3) face the Manchester Millrats (5-2) tonight at 7 p.m. at the Metro Centre in a battle for first in the Atlantic Conference.
They also play on the road Saturday against the Vermont Frost Heaves and Sunday against the Millrats on a weekend with heavy playoff implications.
Since the Rainmen became a franchise in November 2007, they have never beaten the Millrats or the Frost Heaves, despite 14 attempts. The 6-foot-6 Silverhorn is the only player on the active roster who was around at the start of last season and he’s dying to get revenge on his New England rivals.
“I think something would be wrong with me if I didn’t want to beat those teams,” Silverhorn said. “We owe ’em.”
For the first time with the Rainmen, Silverhorn won’t have his best friend, Eric Crookshank, on the court with him.
Both were inaugural members of the Rainmen, but the high-flying Crookshank was suspended for the season earlier this month for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
“He’s like a brother to me,” Silverhorn said. “Hopefully, in the future, in another league or another season, I don’t know, we will be able to be out there again together.”
