Game Day Writeup: June 1st

“Game of runs” would be an understatement for what just happened.

Saturday, June 1, 2019 saw the Niagara River Lions beat the Guelph Nighthawks 93-85 in the Sleeman Centre in Guelph. It was the first game between the two teams, and the River Lions extend their winning streak to four games.

The Nighthawks were without starting point guard Myck Kabongo, who was sidelined with an eye injury.

The game started out quick for the Nighthawks, who opened up with a 9-0 run.

The River Lions answered by outscoring the Nighthawks 58-29 the rest of the second half, leading 58-38 at the half.

“We just had to make an emphasis on getting stops,” said Guillaume Boucard, who led the River Lions’ scoring with 17 points. “Our transition offense is a real threat because we have so many guys that can score in multiple ways, but it all came down to getting stops and limiting second chance opportunities.”

Boucard was awesome again for Niagara, tallying 11 rebounds, five assists while shooting eight of 12 from the field. He also drew five fouls which led both teams.

“Vic (Raso) and I talked after the game last night about letting the game come to me, starting off focusing on keeping the ball moving and finding the open man,” Boucard said when asked about his performance. “As the game goes on I’m just reading what is given. (There’s) lots of work to do but tonight was a step in the right direction.”

The River Lions’ depth was again on full display in the first half, as Boucard was the only player in double figures scoring. The River Lions led by 23, but an Aaron Redpath three at the buzzer gave the Nighthawks a little bit of momentum heading into the locker room.

The second half was a much different story from the first, with the Nighthawks winning the third quarter 29-14. They then narrowed the gap to as close as three in the fourth quarter.

Starting centre Sam Muldrow fouled out a minute in to the fourth, and Dorian Pinson was inserted as the small-ball five.

“(I’m) always ready to do whatever my team needs to win,” Pinson said about his versatility as a small- ball five this season. “Vic (Raso) tells me to be ready to play small-ball five if needed so it was a regular adjustment for our team.”

Forward Chris Johnson stepped up for the Nighthawks in the absence of Kabongo, scoring 16 points (more than double his season average), grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four assists. He played 28 minutes tonight, a nine-minute increase from his season average.

The River Lions struggled to close out the game in a clean fashion, leading by nine points with 1:09 left in the game. From there, the Nighthawks got a steal, a lay-up plus a foul, and forced another turnover.

The River Lions missed an alley-oop with a six-point lead and nine seconds left, instead of opting to run the clock out. Even with the sloppy play towards the end, they aren’t stressing too much about that or how the game ended.

“No words about the blown alley-oop,” said Raso. “I want the guys to have fun… these things happen, with winning comes the chance of complacency and we took (our foot) off the pedal in the fourth quarter. Credit Guelph… It’s still early in the season and we have lots of room for improvement.”

By Nicolas Bueno