Niagara River Lions leave Guelph Nighthawks behind
ST. CATHARINES – A 13-point run by the Niagara River Lions midway through the game proved to be the undoing of the Guelph Nighthawks who were dropped 101-88 in Canadian Elite Basketball League play Saturday at the Meridian Centre.
The teams were tied 39-39 with 3:44 to go in the opening half, but the locals didn’t score again until the second half was 1:08 old and that basket cut Niagara’s lead to 11 points (52-41).
Niagara River Lions 101 Guelph Nighthawks 88
Niagara’s three-point shooting was key to the win for the River Lions as they shot 46 percent from beyond the arc while the Nighthawks shot 31 percent. The result was that Niagara sank six more three-pointers than Guelph.
The River Lions also had four more steals, eight fewer turnovers and five more points from turnovers than the Nighthawks while Guelph had nine more rebounds, six more points in the paint and nine more fast-break points.
Ahmed Hill collected 20 points for the Nighthawks while Cat Barber had 19, Maurice Calloo 14, A.J. Hess 11 and T.J. Lall 10. Lall had 11 rebounds and Lucas Nogueira 10 while Nogueira also had three blocks.
Khalil Ahmad struck for 25 points for Niagara and was followed by Antonio Davis Jr. with 21, Jaylen Babb-Harrison with 17, Elijah Mitrou-Long with 15 and Shawn Occeus with 11. Tidjan Keita grabbed nine rebounds while Ahmad had 10 assists and Davis Jr. and Occeus each had two blocks.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the Nighthawks while it was Niagara’s sixth win in seven games.
Hamilton Honey Badgers lead the league at 11-3 while Niagara is second at 10-4. They’re followed by the Fraser Valley Bandits at 9-5, Scarborough Shooting Stars at 8-5, Edmonton Stingers and Saskatchewan Rattlers both at 7-7, the Nighthawks at 6-8, Ottawa BlackJacks at 5-8, Montreal Alliance at 3-10 and Newfoundland Growlers at 2-11.
Top eight qualify for the playoffs with the teams finishing fifth through eighth getting berths in play-in games Aug. 4 or 5. Winners advance to the Aug. 7 quarter-finals with winners gaining spots in the championship weekend in Ottawa Aug. 12 to 14. However, Ottawa and the team finishing the regular season in first place are guaranteed berths in the championship weekend.
The Nighthawks have made a few transactions this month. They welcomed back Myles Charvis, making him the only player who has been on the team every year of its existence. They also signed Calloo and Giorgi Bezhanishvili and released Madut Akec, Jabari Craig, Kyliann Rotardier, Elijah Miller and Lock Lam.
The Nighthawks are to host Montreal Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Sleeman Centre.
- Guelph Sports Journal
Niagara River Lions leave Guelph Nighthawks behind
ST. CATHARINES – A 13-point run by the Niagara River Lions midway through the game proved to be the undoing of the Guelph Nighthawks who were dropped 101-88 in Canadian Elite Basketball League play Saturday at the Meridian Centre.
The teams were tied 39-39 with 3:44 to go in the opening half, but the locals didn’t score again until the second half was 1:08 old and that basket cut Niagara’s lead to 11 points (52-41).
Niagara River Lions 101
Guelph Nighthawks 88
Niagara’s three-point shooting was key to the win for the River Lions as they shot 46 percent from beyond the arc while the Nighthawks shot 31 percent. The result was that Niagara sank six more three-pointers than Guelph.
The River Lions also had four more steals, eight fewer turnovers and five more points from turnovers than the Nighthawks while Guelph had nine more rebounds, six more points in the paint and nine more fast-break points.
Ahmed Hill collected 20 points for the Nighthawks while Cat Barber had 19, Maurice Calloo 14, A.J. Hess 11 and T.J. Lall 10. Lall had 11 rebounds and Lucas Nogueira 10 while Nogueira also had three blocks.
Khalil Ahmad struck for 25 points for Niagara and was followed by Antonio Davis Jr. with 21, Jaylen Babb-Harrison with 17, Elijah Mitrou-Long with 15 and Shawn Occeus with 11. Tidjan Keita grabbed nine rebounds while Ahmad had 10 assists and Davis Jr. and Occeus each had two blocks.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the Nighthawks while it was Niagara’s sixth win in seven games.
Hamilton Honey Badgers lead the league at 11-3 while Niagara is second at 10-4. They’re followed by the Fraser Valley Bandits at 9-5, Scarborough Shooting Stars at 8-5, Edmonton Stingers and Saskatchewan Rattlers both at 7-7, the Nighthawks at 6-8, Ottawa BlackJacks at 5-8, Montreal Alliance at 3-10 and Newfoundland Growlers at 2-11.
Top eight qualify for the playoffs with the teams finishing fifth through eighth getting berths in play-in games Aug. 4 or 5. Winners advance to the Aug. 7 quarter-finals with winners gaining spots in the championship weekend in Ottawa Aug. 12 to 14. However, Ottawa and the team finishing the regular season in first place are guaranteed berths in the championship weekend.
The Nighthawks have made a few transactions this month. They welcomed back Myles Charvis, making him the only player who has been on the team every year of its existence. They also signed Calloo and Giorgi Bezhanishvili and released Madut Akec, Jabari Craig, Kyliann Rotardier, Elijah Miller and Lock Lam.
The Nighthawks are to host Montreal Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Sleeman Centre.
- Guelph Sports Journal