Game Day Writeup: June 12th

A little bit of familiarity never hurt anyone, right?

Wednesday night the Niagara River Lions travel to Hamilton to play the Honey Badgers for the second time in four days. It will be their first appearance at the FirstOntario Centre, and the physical nature of the game suggests an early-season rivalry brewing.

“I’m up for a rivalry,” said River Lions’ guard Ryan Anderson after the game on Saturday. “They’re the closest to us… that was a fun game, a little more competitive, a lot more physical, it’s all good though.”

The Honey Badgers are 3-1 at home on the season, losing only to the Saskatchewan Rattlers on their home floor. They average 1347 people at their home games so far.

As far as the last game went, the River Lions rebounded well after conceding a 13-4 run at the beginning of the game. They went on a 29-3 run before finishing the quarter up 36-18.

“The key in this game, and the 18-0 run we had against Guelph after being down 9-0, was getting stops,” said head coach Victor Raso.

Stops were at a premium for the River Lions, as they never conceded over 23 points in quarters one through three. Overall for the game the Honey Badgers shot just 43% and 29% from behind the arc.

The River Lions largest lead was 22 points and maintained a 16-20-point lead throughout the second half until the fourth quarter, where a Hamilton surge narrowed the gap in the closing minutes.

“It’s kind of becoming a problem with us,” Raso said. “We are getting these big leads and then we take our foot off the pedal.”

Also of note for the River Lions was the breakout performance of Toronto-native Kassius Robertson.

Robertson, who last played for Medi Bayreuth in Germany last year, averaged eight points, a rebound and an assist per game headed into Saturday’s match-up with the Honey Badgers.

Saturday, he exploded off the bench with 17 points, two assists and shot an incredible five of eight fromthe three-point line. He has had to adjust to playing point for the River Lions, who already have two established playmakers in Trae Bell-Haynes and Alex “Superman” Johnson.

“This season really isn’t about minutes for me, instead I’m just focused on getting better as a player and a teammate and contributing any way I can to the team,” Robertson said after the game on Saturday.

“Position-wise I am naturally a shooting guard, but I am trying to get better at the point guard position.”

Robertson doesn’t feel like finding a rhythm is difficult with Niagara, due to the high-level character and skill level.

“Not with a team that is so unselfish and talented,” Robertson said after being asked about any difficulties with finding a groove. “Playing basketball is fun, there’s no pressure or expectations for me. As long as I am playing with players who play team basketball (the) rhythm comes naturally.”

The River Lions next three games are in Ontario, as they host two after the game in Hamilton tomorrow.

Tip-off is at 7 PM.

By Nicolas Bueno