Game Day Writeup: June 26th

The River Lions and Honey Badgers are tied in the season series at 1-1.

The last time these two teams met things didn’t go very well for the River Lions: they failed to capitalize on Honey Badgers’ guard Ricky Tarrant Jr. being ejected and struggled to take care of the ball in the fourth quarter. They ended up losing 107-95.

The Honey Badgers sit at 7-3 on the season, good for second in the CEBL, and are also riding a three-game winning streak.

“Hamilton is the hottest team in the league right now,” said head coach Victor Raso. “The last time we played them we let their main guys get way too comfortable, and I don’t think we gave them enough credit, the credit they deserved, at the beginning of the game. We put ourselves behind the eight-ball, didn’t shoot the ball well, got beat up on the boards and ran out of steam late.”

Raso was on the money with those observations, as the River Lions shot a poor 41% from the field (compared to Hamilton’s 53%), 29% from behind the three-point line (compared to Hamilton’s 42%) and were outrebounded 46-42.

They were down 56-43 at the half and narrowed the Honey Badgers lead down to just one in the fourth quarter before falling apart before the finish line.

“We will try and do a better job on their main guys, come out with an intensity that is needed to beat the hottest team in the league and compete with them on the boards,” Raso said when asked what it takes to defeat this Honey Badgers squad.

The last game for the River Lions was a home victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers, one in which they played a dominant fourth quarter. That was nice for the River Lions, as they have struggled in the final frame of the three games prior to that one.

Their defense dominated the game, holding the Rattlers to 83 points and 41% shooting from the field.

“Our win against the Rattlers was a win we needed,” said Raso. “We hadn’t won a game that we didn’t shoot well, especially with Nem and Ryan not shooting well, so it’s important for us to be able to lock in and hold that caliber to a score in the 80’s.”

The River Lions are a perfect 5-0 at home, including a win over the Honey Badgers on June 8.

The Honey Badgers come into this game fresh off a 104-103 win on the road over the Guelph Nighthawks.

The Honey Badgers were treated to a surprise performance by Sampson Carter, who dropped 25 points on 54% shooting from the field and was also three of six on three-pointers. Carter averages nine points and 2.7 rebounds per game on the season, so he gave them a much-needed boost while starter Mike Fraser struggled with only seven points.

The Honey Badgers on the season are led in scoring by Ricky Tarrant Jr. (19.6 points per game) and led in rebounds by Ryan Ejim (9.5 rebounds per game). Ejim also leads the team in blocks (1.6 per game) and Tarrant Jr. leads them in steals (1.7 per game).

Tip-off is at 7 PM.

By Nicolas Bueno