Game Day Writeup: August 1st

The River Lions wrap up their season series with the Guelph Nighthawks tonight in St. Catharine’s.

This also marks their last home game of the season, already a league best 8-1 at the Meridian Centre.

Last week the River Lions travelled to Guelph and beat the Nighthawks 96-87. In what was their last back-to-back of the season, the River Lions had a tumultuous 24 hours. Shortly after losing their first home game of the season, they were on the road to Guelph and bounced back to get back in the win column.

“I was extremely proud of how our guys responded,” said head coach Victor Raso. “Our guys take losing seriously… they had an emotional rollercoaster over the past two days and responded well.”

The River Lions were treated to premium performances by Alex Johnson and Dorian Pinson who each scored a team-high 19 points. Johnson also pitched in seven assists and seven rebounds, while Pinson led the team with 11 rebounds.

The River Lions have continued to be led by their egalitarian offense: only three players on the active roster average under nine points a game, while none of their players are in the top-five of scoring. This ball-moving philosophy is good enough to net them the number one offense in the CEBL with 100.6 points scored per game.

They also generate 21.1 assists per game, good for second in the CEBL, and 15.0 turnovers per game, good for the second most efficient.

The River Lions shoot threes at an extremely high volume as the only team in the league to attempt more than 30 threes a game (32.4). They also lead the league in three-point percentage at 38.8%.

Oh, and even though they get to the free-throw line the least frequently in the CEBL, they convert at the second-highest rate (72.8%).

On the other side of the ball, the season has not been as easy for the Guelph Nighthawks.

Sitting in the basement of the CEBL at 4-12, the Nighthawks are tied for the worst record in the CEBL with the Fraser Valley Bandits.

The Nighthawks have had 21 players play on their roster this season, while there are only 10 available active spots.

The Nighthawks have struggled to score the ball efficiently this season, scoring 91.5 points per game on 44.4% shooting from the field. Both of those numbers rank second last in the CEBL.

The Nighthawks are the worst team in the CEBL in rebounding at 35.7 per game. The second worst team in the CEBL in rebounding is the River Lions at 37.7

A big reason for optimism, however, is their increased three-point shooting ability: they shoot 36.3% from behind the three-point line, good for second in the league, and forward Connor Wood recently set the record for most threes made in a single CEBL game (9).

In the last time these two teams met, the Nighthawks shot 42% from the field and 31% from behind the arc. The River Lions, on the other hand, rode the hot hand to a 52% shooting night from the field and 50% from behind the arc.

Tip-off is at 7PM.

By Nicolas Bueno