Balanced scoring carries River Lions to third win in a row

Good things happen when you pass around the basketball and make sure the target on any one player's back doesn't become too big.

With six players reaching double digits in scoring and with another just a field goal shy of joining that elite company, the Niagara River Lions parlayed that strategy to a 108-96 victory over the Hamilton Honey Badgers Wednesday night at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.

Niagara general manager-head coach Victor Raso said getting points from up and down the lineup is especially in a league that emphasizes development.

"From the start, this whole experience has been about development, development individually and also as a team," he said. "These guys have really bought into playing the right way and then understanding that moving the ball and making the right play always rewards you in the end."

In addition to a balanced scoring attack and a fast break that succeeded in keeping the Honey Badgers off balance, the River Lions drained 40 per cent of their three-point attempts, 15-for-37, on their way to their third win in a row.

Hamilton was outscored 45-24 in shots from beyond the three-point arc.

Niagara's Ryan Anderson scored a game-high 25 points, including seven from beyond the arc, off the bench and fellow sub Yohanny Dalembert added 10 points in 13:13 minutes of action.

Starters Sam Muldrow, 17; Guillaume Payen-Boucard, 15; Dorian Pinson and Nem Mitrovic, 14 apiece; all scored in double digits. Only two points away from joining them was Trae Bell-Haynes, with eight.

Payen-Boucard topped Niagara with 11 rebounds, and Alex Johnson led the River Lions with a game-high 10 assists.

Niagara was outrebounded 50-46 but never trailed outscoring Hamilton 31-14 on points off fast breaks.

"That's what we do really well. We get stops – that's been our biggest focus recently – and we're really tough in transition, because we have point guards who put a lot of pressure on the rim," Raso said. "That's kind of our bread and butter.

"If we can get stops and get out and go, we're going to put up a lot of points. We're going to speed up the game to the pace that we want it."

With the whistle-to-whistle win, the River Lions improved their record to a league-leading 9-2 and avenged a 107-95 loss to the Honey Badgers June 12 at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton.

Niagara visits the 5-4 Edmonton Stingers on Friday night hoping to improve to 2-1 against one of the three teams in western Canada in the spring-summer professional league.

After dropping a 118-105 decision in overtime in Edmonton in their second game of the season, the River Lions defeated the Stingers 108-66 May 16 in St. Catharines.

Niagara's next home game is Friday, July 5, against the Saskatchewan Ratters. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

Anderson tops the six-team league with 37 three-pointers at the halfway mark of the 20-game season. Mitrovic is tied for second with 34.

Muldrow leads the league in blocks per game, 2.1; and no one's field-goal efficiency is higher than Dalembert's 72.2 per cent.

Payen-Boucard, 16.2 points per game; Bell-Hanes, 14; Anderson, 13.9; Pinson, 12.8; and Mitrovic, 12.6; lead Niagara in scoring heading into Friday night's game at Edmonton.

Pinson is the team's top rebounder with an average of 7.9 per game.

Bernd.Franke@niagaradailies.com

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Bernd Franke | June 27, 2019 | St. Catharines Standard