2019 Season Highlights

There’s something to be said about the start of something exciting. The Niagara River Lions enjoyed many successes in 2019 and are only going to build more going on from here. After an incredibly successful first CEBL season in the books and the anticipation for more starting to settle in, we can look back on some of the best moments of the River Lions’ season.

The First Win

The eyes of 3399 people in the SaskTel Centre patiently waited to see what kind of product they were getting.

The first CEBL game was upon us, and after an intense 40 minutes the Niagara River Lions escaped with a 99-97 win over the eventual CEBL champion Saskatchewan Rattlers.

A Trae Bell-Haynes lay-up with 1:06 left put the River Lions up 99-95 and was immediately answered by a Bruce Massey-Marlon Johnson alley-oop to narrow the gap back to a one possession game. A three-point heave at the buzzer by Alex Campbell fell short and the River Lions improved to 1-0.

Guillaume Boucard led the River Lions in scoring, posting 19 points as well as nine rebounds and two assists to go along with his scoring output.

Trae Bell-Haynes also pitched in with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes of action as well.

The First Home Game

For a very resilient team like the Niagara River Lions, this can also be known as “the first bounce back.”

The River Lions didn’t lose back-to-back games all season and were fresh off the heels of a 118-105 overtime loss to the Edmonton Stingers only six days earlier.

On May 16 they got another chance at the Stingers in the first home game of the season. The River Lions did not make any mistake in this one, dominating in a 108-66 win.

The River Lions shot a scorching hot 47% from the field and 52% from behind the three-point line. They were led by Ryan Anderson who scored 21 points on 80% (eight of 10) shooting from the field and 71% (five of seven) from behind the three-point line.

Nem Mitrovic also had a good shooting night, going four of 10 from behind the three-point line and chipping in 16 points.

Other than Xavier Moon (26 points) and Jordan Baker (23 points), no Stinger had more than five points.

Pinson Makes History With First CEBL Triple Double

On May 24th, Dorian Pinson notched the league's first-ever-triple-double in a 108-91 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers. With 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in just under 29 minutes of play, Dorian earned his first-ever professional triple-double.

"It just gives me a reminder of how I can impact the game in different ways," continued Pinson, "It's never really about scoring for me, it's more of getting my teammates invovled and doing all the little things it takes to win games & create a positive energy for the team."

The Battle of Ontario

June 8 was a big matchup for the River Lions, as they geared up for their first game of the season against the Hamilton Honey Badgers.

The River Lions and Honey Badgers were the #1 and #2 seed heading into that week and Niagara held their own on their home court.

After a dominating performance from tip-off to buzzer, the River Lions won 107-96 behind 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists from Guillaume Boucard.

The River Lions led by 24 at one point during the game (90-66 with 7:06 left) and were also treated to great scoring performances from team captain Ryan Anderson (19 points) and reserve guard Kassius Robertson (17 points).

“(We’re) not worried about peaking just focused on improving,” Anderson said when asked if the team’s early win-streak can breed complacency. “When you focus on improving wins take care of themselves. (We) definitely can continue this pace, (and) actually believe there’s more of a ceiling (for the team).”

The First Win in Abbotsford

Two months into the season, the River Lions had only one game against the last-place Fraser Valley Bandits. They won that game 105-87 at the Meridian Centre.

On July 11, they made their first trip to Abbotsford BC to take on a streaking Bandits team.

After starting the season 0-9, the Bandits had rallied, winning three straight against the Rattlers, Guelph Nighthawks and Honey Badgers.

Both teams went back and forth for the full 40 minutes, but a flurry of River Lions three-pointers put them up for good in a 104-94 win.

Nem Mitrovic, who had struggled heading into this one, hit three treys in the final four and a half minutes, with the last one being the dagger to go up 98-94 with 32 seconds left.

“Nem (Mitrovic) for me was what I was so happy about for this game, because Nem has been struggling a little and he wasn’t playing that well,” Raso said. “With four and a half minutes to go…I turned to the coaches and said: ‘I’m either an idiot or the smartest person in the world.’ I put Nem in the game and Nem banged 3 threes in the last 4.5 minutes. He made some incredible plays for us… This was a massive win. This was essentially a playoff win.”

Sam Muldrow sets a CEBL record

Nine days after their big win against the Bandits, the River Lions played the Bandits at home in their final meeting of the season at the Meridian Centre.

This one was a defensive slugfest, and the River Lions won 80-71 despite shooting struggles and a 9-point third quarter.

The big highlight in this one was CEBL Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All Star Sam Muldrow blocking eight shots and setting a CEBL single-game record.

This win also capped off an eight-game winning streak at home for Niagara, and they improved to 12-3 on the season.