Scarborough oust Niagara 93-81 and advance to CEBL Championship final

The Scarborough Shooting Stars move on to the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) final in their inaugural season after defeating the Niagara River Lions 93-81 on Friday in Ottawa. A fourth quarter run saw the third-seed team knock out the River Lions at TD Place Arena to tip-off Championship Weekend.

The Shooting Stars await the winner of the second semifinal between the Hamilton Honey Badgers and Championship Weekend host Ottawa BlackJacks for their opponent in Sunday’s final. They enter the game as winners of six of their past seven games. 

“What we’ve done all year is focus on us and making sure we’re getting better,” Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus said. “We’ll watch the film and be ready for Sunday.”

Scarborough guard Jalen Harris powered the team to victory on Friday with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Kameron Chatman was clutch off the bench for the Shooting Stars and netted 22 points, including 13 points in the fourth and the Elam ender. Kassius Robertson also cashed in on some big shots for Scarborough and finished with 19 points on 7-12 shooting from the field and 4-7 from three. Danilo Djurcic and Isiaha Mike rounded out the Shooting Stars’ attack with 11 point and 10 points respectively.

“In the first half we did a good job on [Harris and Robertson],” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said. “If you allow that type of talent to feel good about themselves or feel like they have a chance, then they can really hurt you.”

Defensive Player of the Year E.J. Onu continued his strong playoff run for Niagara despite the loss. He scored a game-high 26 points on 8-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-5 from three to go along with 2 blocks. The new league MVP Khalil Ahmad also played well in a losing effort for the River Lions. Ahmad put up 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 6-18 shooting from the field, 2-4 from three and 9-14 from the free throw line. 

The River Lions were held to 38 per cent from the field on Friday and finished at 60 per cent from the charity stripe with 10 misses. After a strong start to the game, Niagara lost the final three quarters by a combined 24 points. The supporting cast for Scarborough stepped up in the semifinal, and dropped 36 bench points to Niagara’s 13.

“It was a team effort,” Exilus said. “We stuck to the game plan in the huddles, made sure we had a good temperament and made sure we were on the same page. As the game went on, you could see the tide change.” 

The first quarter saw the River Lions get off to a strong start both offensively and defensively. Khalil Ahmad opened the game with Niagara’s first seven points and led them to a 14-4 run to start. Ahmad also showed off his playmaking ability and found EJ Onu for an alley-pop on the fastbreak to extend the River Lions’ lead to 14 points. Elijah Mitrou-Long capped off an incredible opening frame for Niagara with a buzzer-beating trifecta off the dribble to give them a 26-13 lead heading into the second. 

Mitrou-Long opened the second with an easy transition layup, but it was Niagara’s lone field goal in almost eight minutes of action to start the quarter. The Shooting Stars locked down defensively and went on a 16-4 run to get themselves back into the game. A slashing lefty layup from Jalen Harris tied the game late in the first half for the first time since the opening tip. However, Ahmad connected on a floater for his first bucket of the quarter and gave the River Lions a narrow 35-33 lead heading into the locker room. 

After a 1-8 start from beyond the arc, Scarborough hit 3-9 from three in the second quarter to help them back into the game. Both teams shot below 40 per cent from the field in the opening 20 minutes—Niagara shot 38 per cent and Scarborough shot 34 per cent. Ahmad led all scorers at half with 10 points, while Danilo Djuricic led the way for the Shooting Stars with 8 points. 

Harris buried a triple to open the third quarter that gave the Shooting Stars their first lead of the game. The former Toronto Raptor continued to dominate for Scarborough—he scored on a jumper, a scoop layup, a floater and a free throw on his way to 10 third quarter points before hitting the bench until the fourth. 

The Shooting Stars and River Lions exchanged blows throughout the third quarter. Seven consecutive points from E.J. Onu gave Niagara their largest lead of the frame but back-to-back threes from Kassius Robertson regained the lead for Scarborough. The third quarter featured eight lead changes and two ties, but a catch-and-shoot jumper from Kameron Chatman gave the Shooting Stars a 60-56 lead heading into the final frame. 

A two-handed jam from Jalen Harris opened the quarter but his fellow star Khalil Ahmad answered immediately with a three. However, the game took a turn from there. Chatman and Robertson caught fire in the fourth for the Shooting Stars. They helped break the game open for Scarborough and led them to an 83-66 lead heading into the Elam Ending with a target score of 92.

The River Lions fought back during Elam time and cut the deficit back to single digits but it proved too large. Robertson, Kyle Alexander and Isiaha Mike all scored for Scarborough in Elam time but a lefty euro step layup and a putback tip in from Kameron Chatman closed out the game.

Fans can live stream all playoff games on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change. 

The CEBL’s fourth season began May 25 and ended August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.