Niagara continues road trip with a clash against the reigning CEBL Champion Edmonton Stingers

Edmonton opened its 2021 CEBL season with a win on Saturday against the Hamilton Honey Badgers, 91-87.

The River Lions came out to a hot start in game one, topping the Ottawa BlackJacks in a convincing 103-78 win, but struggled to transition that momentum into game two, losing 104-81 to the Fraser Valley Bandits on Tuesday night.

Although the River Lions have played more games than the Stingers so far this season, a strong core remains from Edmonton’s 2020 CEBL Championship winning roster and their team chemistry has looked solid early on.

Edmonton returns six players from last year’s squad, including key members Xavier Moon and Jordan Baker. Moon has won the league’s MVP award in both CEBL seasons, Baker was crowned the top Canadian in 2020, and both were named CEBL First Team All-Stars last year. Other returning players include Mathieu Kamba, Adika Peter-Mcneilly, Kareem South, and Zac Overwater.

Because of this strong core, head coach and general manager Jermaine Small opted to shorten training camp, confident that both the individual players, and the team as a whole would be ready come opening night. This decision was reinforced as in their season opener against the Honey Badgers, Edmonton picked up right where they left off last year. The Stingers were dominant through two quarters and opened up a 19-point lead at the half.

Despite a strong start to the 2021 campaign, arguably one of the largest CEBL offseason moves was former Edmonton Stinger, Travis Daniels, taking his talents to the Saskatchewan Rattlers . Daniels was an integral part of the team’s championship run last season and through two years with the Stingers he averaged 15.1 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. Together, Daniels and Baker were a dynamic front court duo, giving opponents trouble because of their size combined with their versatility.

Marlon Johnson helped to fill the void left by Daniels with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists in his long-awaited Stingers debut. The six-foot-ten forward signed with Edmonton in 2020, but was unable to play in the Summer Series last year due to scheduling conflicts surrounding COVID-19. Johnson dazzled in his first game with the Stingers, throwing down some high-flying dunks that brought energy for his team. These dynamic plays proved especially crucial given the team was playing in a largely empty arena.

The River Lions approach tonight’s matchup looking to get back in the win column. A bright spot in game two for Niagara was guard Xavier Sneed who led all players with 34 points on 61 per cent shooting.

Perhaps some complacency set in after the River Lions dominate 25-point road win over Ottawa in their season opener. Head coach and general manager Victor Raso believes a strong start against the Stingers will be paramount to his team’s success. Niagara will have to bring consistent energy and be aggressive on both ends of the court if they want to dethrone the reigning CEBL Champions.

“This league is all about energy, teams who play harder win games,” said Raso in the post-game press conference Tuesday night. 

This offseason saw several current and former Carleton Ravens make their way to Niagara in coaching legend Dave Smart, five-time U SPORTS Champion Phil Scrubb, 2020 CEBL U SPORTS Player of the Year Lloyd Pandi, and current Ravens forward Grant Shephard. Although Scrubb has yet to join the team because of other playing commitments, Raso believes the habits ingrained from Carleton’s championship culture will be beneficial for the River Lions as the season progresses.

All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service, CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.

 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube