Nighthawks knocked out of playoffs after ‘road’ loss at home
GUELPH – The visiting Guelph Nighthawks saw their Canadian Elite Basketball League season come to an end Saturday night following a 99-78 loss to the Niagara River Lions in quarter-final play at the Sleeman Centre.
The Nighthawks were the visiting squad on their own court – minus their logo that was peeled off a few days earlier – as Niagara’s home arena (the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines) was hosting the opening ceremony for the Canada Summer Games. And the Nighthawks earned the right to play at home when they defeated the Fraser Valley Bandits 90-85 in Langley, B.C., Thursday night for their first ever playoff victory.
Niagara River Lions 99 Guelph Nighthawks 78
Whether the jet lag from having played on the west coast two days earlier caught up to them or not, the locals were done in Saturday by a dreadful second quarter. They had led 22-17 at the end of a first quarter that saw the teams trade baskets and the lead a few times, but then they went cold as ice at the beginning of the second stanza.
It took the Nighthawks four seconds shy of half of the second quarter to net their first bucket of the quarter and by that time the River Hawks had disappeared over the horizon as they led 40-24. The Nighthawks missed six shots during that scoreless stretch and they also had three turnovers and took three fouls. By comparison, Niagara missed four shots (all free throws), had one turnover and also committed three fouls.
After leading at the end of the first quarter, the Nighthawks trailed 53-34 at halftime and 74-62 at the end of the third quarter after making an effort at chipping away the gap between the teams. They did get it down to eight points early in the final quarter, but could get no closer.
When the Elam ending came into being, the Nighthawks had the improbably task of having to score 23 points before Niagara netted nine. They managed four while the River Lions sank 11, winning on a three-pointer by Jaylen Babb-Harrison when they needed a single point for the victory.
Ahmed Hill led the Nighthawks with 17 points in the game while Cat Barber had 15 and Sean Miller-Moore and Maurice Calloo each had 13. Miller-Moore grabbed six rebounds while Barber had six assists, Stefan Smith had three steals and Lucas Nogueira had two blocks.
For Niagara, Ej Onu had 28 points while Khalil Ahmad and Daniel Walden-Mullings had 14 apiece and Babb-Harrison and Elijah Mitrou-Long each had 11. Walden-Mullings hauled down 11 rebounds while Mitrou-Long had six assists, Babb-Harrison had four steals and Onu had three blocks.
The River Lions collected 40 of their points in the paint, 14 more than the Nighthawks. Niagara’s 23-point scoring run in the second quarter was also 17 points longer than any scoring stretch by Guelph in the game.
Niagara shot 55 percent on field goals including 45 percent on three-pointers. The Nighthawks hit 39 percent on field goals and 31 percent from beyond the arc. The River Lions also had 11 more rebounds, six more assists, two more steals, four more blocks and four more fouls than the ‘visitors’.
Attendance for the game was announced as 1,408.
Niagara advances to the semifinals Friday at the championship weekend at Ottawa. They’ll play the winner of Sunday’s quarter-final at Scarborough between the host Shooting Stars and the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
The other semifinal Friday is already set as it’ll feature the top-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers against the eighth-seeded Ottawa BlackJacks who gained a berth in the tournament as hosts.
The Nighthawks finish the season with an overall 11-11 record. The .500 winning percentage is their best ever as they went 6-14 (.300) in 2019, 3-4 (.429) in the Meridian Centre bubble in 2020 and 5-10 (.333) in 2021.
- Guelph Sports Journal
Nighthawks knocked out of playoffs after ‘road’ loss at home
GUELPH – The visiting Guelph Nighthawks saw their Canadian Elite Basketball League season come to an end Saturday night following a 99-78 loss to the Niagara River Lions in quarter-final play at the Sleeman Centre.
The Nighthawks were the visiting squad on their own court – minus their logo that was peeled off a few days earlier – as Niagara’s home arena (the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines) was hosting the opening ceremony for the Canada Summer Games. And the Nighthawks earned the right to play at home when they defeated the Fraser Valley Bandits 90-85 in Langley, B.C., Thursday night for their first ever playoff victory.
Niagara River Lions 99
Guelph Nighthawks 78
Whether the jet lag from having played on the west coast two days earlier caught up to them or not, the locals were done in Saturday by a dreadful second quarter. They had led 22-17 at the end of a first quarter that saw the teams trade baskets and the lead a few times, but then they went cold as ice at the beginning of the second stanza.
It took the Nighthawks four seconds shy of half of the second quarter to net their first bucket of the quarter and by that time the River Hawks had disappeared over the horizon as they led 40-24. The Nighthawks missed six shots during that scoreless stretch and they also had three turnovers and took three fouls. By comparison, Niagara missed four shots (all free throws), had one turnover and also committed three fouls.
After leading at the end of the first quarter, the Nighthawks trailed 53-34 at halftime and 74-62 at the end of the third quarter after making an effort at chipping away the gap between the teams. They did get it down to eight points early in the final quarter, but could get no closer.
When the Elam ending came into being, the Nighthawks had the improbably task of having to score 23 points before Niagara netted nine. They managed four while the River Lions sank 11, winning on a three-pointer by Jaylen Babb-Harrison when they needed a single point for the victory.
Ahmed Hill led the Nighthawks with 17 points in the game while Cat Barber had 15 and Sean Miller-Moore and Maurice Calloo each had 13. Miller-Moore grabbed six rebounds while Barber had six assists, Stefan Smith had three steals and Lucas Nogueira had two blocks.
For Niagara, Ej Onu had 28 points while Khalil Ahmad and Daniel Walden-Mullings had 14 apiece and Babb-Harrison and Elijah Mitrou-Long each had 11. Walden-Mullings hauled down 11 rebounds while Mitrou-Long had six assists, Babb-Harrison had four steals and Onu had three blocks.
The River Lions collected 40 of their points in the paint, 14 more than the Nighthawks. Niagara’s 23-point scoring run in the second quarter was also 17 points longer than any scoring stretch by Guelph in the game.
Niagara shot 55 percent on field goals including 45 percent on three-pointers. The Nighthawks hit 39 percent on field goals and 31 percent from beyond the arc. The River Lions also had 11 more rebounds, six more assists, two more steals, four more blocks and four more fouls than the ‘visitors’.
Attendance for the game was announced as 1,408.
Niagara advances to the semifinals Friday at the championship weekend at Ottawa. They’ll play the winner of Sunday’s quarter-final at Scarborough between the host Shooting Stars and the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
The other semifinal Friday is already set as it’ll feature the top-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers against the eighth-seeded Ottawa BlackJacks who gained a berth in the tournament as hosts.
The Nighthawks finish the season with an overall 11-11 record. The .500 winning percentage is their best ever as they went 6-14 (.300) in 2019, 3-4 (.429) in the Meridian Centre bubble in 2020 and 5-10 (.333) in 2021.
- Guelph Sports Journal