Niagara River Lions face Edmonton Stingers in rubber match

As the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) playoff race heats up, two contenders will meet in Niagara in a rematch of last year’s championship game. The Niagara River Lions will seek revenge against the two-time defending champion Edmonton Stingers at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Meridian Centre on Wednesday. 

The River Lions enter the game at 8-4 in second place in the CEBL standings while the Stingers come into Wednesday’s contest on a two-game winning streak at 7-5 in a three-way tie for fourth with the Scarborough Shooting Stars and Saskatchewan Rattlers. 

Edmonton and Niagara played each other twice already this season with the River Lions taking the opening meeting 86-74 and the Stingers winning the second meeting 79-77.  With their win over Niagara last month, the Stingers improved their all-time record against the River Lions to 7-2, including the playoffs. 

Khalil Ahmad scored a game-high 22 points to go along with 5 assists in the first meeting in May that saw the Stingers shoot just 33 per cent from the field and 25 per cent from three. Aher Uguak had 20 points for Edmonton in that loss and hit the game-winner in their next meeting on June 6th. Edmonton did a better job keeping Ahmad in check in the second meeting, holding him to 13 points, while Philip Scrubb stepped up and led all scorers off the bench for Niagara with 21 points. 

The Stingers’ offence has been outstanding in their last two games, reaching the 100 point mark in each of their past two wins. Their 120-69 victory over the Newfoundland Growlers set a CEBL record for largest margin of victory at 51 points, a franchise record for points in a game, and the record for points in a CEBL Elam ending game. Edmonton was 10 points short of Saskatchewan’s league record for points at 130 from 2019, sitting third behind Guelph’s 125 as well. 

Brody Clarke was spectacular over the Stingers’ two-game winning streak, scoring 25 points against Guelph and 27 against Newfoundland, each game-highs. Clarke has emerged as the number one option for Edmonton, leading the team in points per game this season at 15.3. Jordan Baker leads the team in three statistical categories, with a league-best 10.9 rebounds per game, 5.4 assists per game, 1.6 steals per game and 11.2 points per game. Marlon Johnson and Aher Uguak each average double figures for the Stingers as well, with 11.1 and 10.1 points per game respectively. 

Meanwhile, Ahmad enters the game leading the CEBL scoring race. Ahmad is averaging 21.7 points per game and 4.9 assists per game on 47 per cent shooting and 33 per cent from three. Jaylen Babb-Harrison is also a consistent contributor, averaging 11.5 points per game on 46 per cent shooting from the field and 42 per cent from three. EJ Onu has also been a dependable scorer and rim protector for Niagara this season, averaging 10.5 points per game and a league-best 3.5 blocks per game. 

Niagara enters the game with the league’s best offence at 88.3 points per game and 46.7 per cent shooting from the field while Edmonton has climbed to seventh in the offensive standings at 84.6 points per game with a league best 22 assists per game.

The game will stream on CEBL+ live internationally and in Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS

and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Games are also available on the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile, available on iOS and Android devices.

Edmonton Stingers season tickets are available at https://www.thestingers.ca/season-tickets17e760ad  while Niagara River Lions season tickets are available at https://www.riverlions.ca/tickets. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 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 runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.