River Lions Fourth Quarter Rally Ends With 95-87 Win Over Newfoundland

The Niagara River Lions out-scored the Newfoundland Growlers 28-4 in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to send them to Elam time with an eight-point lead.  Niagara defeated the Newfoundland Growlers 95-87.  Niagara moves to 11-4 with the Newfoundland Growlers now 2-12.

Newfoundland and Niagara came out with energy on the defensive end and looked to use their quick hands to create transition opportunities.  For the Growlers, that came to fruition as they got the ball moving and used the agility of their guards to create space for looks.  The River Lions were unable to capitalize on defence in the first quarter but their ball movement allowed them to get to their spots.  With Newfoundland shooting 60 per cent and Niagara shooting 22 per cent, the shots were falling for the Growlers and they pushed out to a 16-2 lead which became 20-9 at the end of the first quarter.

The River Lions movement and shot selection was there in the first quarter, and in the second quarter the shots started falling.  The transition opportunities they were getting were paying off and they slowly started to chip away at the lead.  A layup from Antonio Davis Jr and a three from Jaylen Babb-Harrison made it 26-17 Growlers and Babb-Harrison and the River Lions guards continued to hit the shots they were getting throughout the game.  What was as much as a 14-point lead for the Growlers in the first quarter got deleted by five points from Munis Tutu and two points from Davis, making it 33-33.  The River Lions out-scored the Growlers 26-18 in the second quarter.  At halftime, the Growlers led 38-35.

Every River Lions run, the Growlers had a response.  In the third quarter, Ahmad led the River Lions by scoring the first eight Niagara points, but Meshack Lufile and Keith had a response.  The Growlers pushed their lead back to double-digits and a Keith three followed by a Francis and-one layup put the Growlers up 74-56, their largest lead of the evening.  At the end of the third quarter, Newfoundland led 74-58.

The River Lions started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run thanks to a pair of threes and a layup.  Seven points from Ahmad led the scoring early in the fourth as the River Lions cut their deficit to just three, 75-72 with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter.  Seven more points from Ahmad gave the River Lions their first lead of the game, 79-75.  Going into Elam time, Niagara led 86-78, target score set at 95. 

A 24-point swing in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter gave Niagara an eight-point lead going into Elam time.  Francis started Elam time with a three to cut the lead to 86-81.  A Sampson dunk made it 86-83 and two free throws from Waldin-Mullings made it 88-83 with the target score 95.  Waldin-Mullings secured the final basket of the game to give Niagara a 95-87 victory.

Ahmad finished with 33 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead the River Lions.  Davis finished with 19 points and seven rebounds along with an assist and two steals.  Waldin-Mullings rounded out the River Lions in double-digit points with a double-double 15 points and 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.



Five Growlers finished with double-digit points, led by Francis and Keith each with 19 points.  Kennedy finished with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.  Sampson recorded 14 points, a rebound and five assists. 

Ahmad talked about how his team locked in, “we came out really slow, we knew we just had to find ourselves defensively, we found ourselves defensively and we started getting buckets on offence.”

“It feels good, I’m just glad we got the win”, Ahmad said of his 33-point performance.