Niagara falls to Edmonton 79-77 at home

The Edmonton Stingers put together an Elam ending comeback win over the Niagara River Lions 79-77 at Meridian Centre on Monday night. Aher Uguak’s game-winning corner three on an assist from Adika Peter-McNeilly avenged their opening loss to the River Lions, improving the team to 3-1 on the season. The River Lions drop to 3-2.

“We defended right from the get-go, from the third quarter on,” Stingers assistant coach George Hoyt said. “We went back to the same switching rotations in the Elam ending and we rebounded the ball really well. We kept moving the ball offensively and had three guys score in Elam, which is awesome.”

Brody Clarke’s 18 points led the way for the Stingers with Jordan Baker, Freddie McSwain Jr. and Peter-McNeilly each reaching double figures. Baker had another well-rounded performance with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. McSwain Jr. and Peter-McNeilly each added 11 for Edmonton, including some big buckets in the fourth quarter. 

Meanwhile, former Carleton Raven Philip Scrubb came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points on 7-12 shooting in just under 27 minutes of action for the River Lions. Coming into the game second in the CEBL in scoring, Khalil Ahmad had a rough start but picked up his play in the fourth, finishing with 13 points on 3-12 shooting to go along with a game-high 8 assists. Alonzo Walker also chipped in 10 for Niagara. 

Both teams finished the game shooting 38 per cent from the field. The squads were evenly matched in a lot of categories, but Edmonton dominated the assist battle, with 23 assists on 27 field goals. Danielle Boiago filled in for Vic Raso as head coach for the River Lions, with Raso out with an illness.

“We had a lot of chances down the stretch,” Boiago said. “We fell in love with the three a bit at the end of the Elam and probably should have closed out the game but I have faith in our guys and we’ll bounce back for sure.”

The first quarter saw the Niagara River Lions’ league-best offence operating efficiently. Niagara shot 60 per cent from the field and 66 per cent from three in the opening frame and Olu Ashaolu flying high on a poster dunk late in the quarter. However, Jahmal Jones rattled in a triple to beat the buzzer and cut the River Lions’ lead to 27-22 going into the second. 

The River Lions didn’t relinquish their lead in the second quarter but the two-time defending champion Stingers were able to keep the game close. Phil Scrubb led all scorers in the first half with 10 points, drawing fouls, completing and ones and going 6-6 from the free throw line. David Pekarek led the Stingers with 8 points, while Baker contributed 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Khalil Ahmad struggled to score in the first half but dished out 5 assists for the River Lions. Niagara carried a 45-39 lead into the locker room, shooting 46 per cent from the field, 50 per cent from three and 93 per cent from the free throw line. Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half, each reaching double digits with 11 turnovers for Niagara and 10 for Edmonton.

The game locked down defensively to start the second half. The River Lions were cold coming out of the locker room and didn’t score in the first 3:30 minutes of the third quarter. The Stingers went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, forcing a Niagara timeout. 

The teams went back and forth for the rest of the quarter in a grit and grind style of play. Edmonton won a low scoring quarter 14-9, but Niagara escaped with a 54-53 lead. Both teams continued their sloppy play in the third with 15 turnovers each.

However, both squads took care of the ball in the final frame. It was back and forth with ties and lead changes early in the fourth. After a tough start, Khalil Ahmad started to heat up for the River Lions while Brody Clarke and Peter-McNeilly made some big plays for the Stingers. An Ahmad long two and a Phil Scrubb layup gave the River Lions a 69-63 advantage heading into the Elam ending with a target score of 78. 

Freddie McSwain Jr. opened the final stretch with two buckets to cut the lead to one. Scrubb answered with a jab-and-shoot long two but an and-one from Clarke tied the game at 71.

Ahmad answered with an and-one of his own and the River Lions went into the bonus and hit from the line to make it 75-71 Niagara with a chance to end the game. Clarke’s hookshot cut the lead back to two and forced a River Lions timeout.

McNeilly rattled in a corner three to retake the lead for Edmonton but Philip Scrubb scored on a layup to give the River Lions a 77-76 lead once again. Finally, Uguak finished the corner three to end the game and complete the comeback. Edmonton improves to 7-2 all-time against the River Lions, including the playoffs. 

The Stingers will host the Montreal Alliance Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. MT at Edmonton Expo Centre. The Niagara River Lions will host the Newfoundland Growlers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday at the Meridian Centre. 

The games 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.