Niagara River Lions take Championship Rematch 86-74 over Edmonton Stingers
EDMONTON, AB – The Stingers honoured their 2021 Championship Team on Friday night ahead of their opener against the Niagara River Lions, a rematch of that championship game. With members getting their rings and the banner going up, players like Xavier Moon thanked the fans, the organization and the league for the support and the rematch was underway. After a fast paced game of runs, the River Lions bounced back from a loss to start the season, with a 86-74 win over the Stingers in Edmonton.
The game started with a Jaylen Babb-Harrison three pointer, but from then on throughout the first quarter the Stingers controlled the game. Edmonton used their size on the boards to get second chance points, four in the first quarter while Niagara was held to zero. Getting the ball inside, Edmonton matched everything Niagara did, both teams recording 10 points in the paint, and their four to two offensive rebounding advantage gave them a five point lead that held to the quarter break. Going into the second quarter the Stingers held a 27-22 lead despite leading by as much as 10, 27-17 with just under two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Niagara was shooting efficiently throughout the first half and that continued in the second half. Their 53 field goal percentage at the half was thanks to their ball movement (eight assists on 17 made buckets), and finding their way to the rim. Khalil Ahmad started off the game with 14 first half points on 50 percent shooting, eight players found the bottom of the hoop for the River Lions in the first half and they held their lead, 45-41 going into the half. Edmonton kept their advantage on the boards (12 to four offensive rebound differential), and turned the ball over three less times than the River Lions (seven River Lion turnovers to four Stinger turnovers). Aher Uguak recorded 14 first half points for the Stingers off a perfect five for five shooting. The second quarter saw five lead changes as both squads found their rhythm but it was the River Lions on top going into halftime.
Efficient scoring continued for the River Lions in the third quarter. They finished the third quarter with a field goal percentage of 50, led by Khalil Ahmad with 20 points on 53% shooting, and Munis Tutu who hit back to back threes in the third quarter to push him to 14 points and the River Lions lead to close to double digits. The River Lions led by as much as 17 in the quarter (69-52). Edmonton struggled to find a rhythm offensively in the quarter, due in part to the River Lions interior defence, they finished the third quarter with a field goal percentage of 35. Going into the fourth quarter, the River Lions held a 73-59 lead.
As the game got down to the wire, both teams went back inside, and fed their forwards. EJ Onu, Jordan Baker and Brody Clarke had big quarters to close out the game as they put back misses and facilitated the offence from inside the paint. Edmonton went on a run to start the fourth, pushing it back to a 10 point game at 73-63, thanks to the facilitation of Brody Clarke getting scorer's chances, but EJ Onu paced the River Lions into Elam time when they held a 77-66 lead. The River Lions continued their paint presence throughout Elam time but a Babb-Harrison three and two Ahmad free throws sealed the game for Niagara as they took a 86-74 win to move to 1-1, the Stingers 0-1.
EJ Onu finished with 14 points and five rebounds for the River Lions, his point guard Khalil Ahmad finishing with 22 points and five rebounds and five assists. Jaylen Babb-Harrison, responsible for the triple that got the River Lions within two of victory, finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists, Munis Tutu 14 points and four rebounds off the bench. On the Stingers side, Aher Uguak finished his game with 20 points and a pair of rebounds and assists, Jordan Baker cleaning up the boards (12 rebounds) to go with six points.
Speaking on the turnaround for the River Lions, Head Coach Victor Raso attributed it to the ability for his players to be coached and hold each other accountable, “I think that our guys thought we were pretty good, they had this in them, that first game we just didn't really hold each other accountable and that was the biggest thing we talked about, we weren’t accountable to getting to our spots, playing the way we wanted, and the guys responded, they're a coachable group and they accepted the coaching.”
Entering their season, Stingers Head Coach Jermaine Small said this of how his team has approached the year so far, “Just getting the new guys acclimated, getting them used to our system and how we do things around here. It’s going to take time as I told them. I’m not disappointed with the loss or anything. It’s not even a loss, it’s a learning opportunity and that’s pretty much it. Give them credit, they played well.”
These two teams will face off again on June 6 in Niagara, Edmonton’s next matchup coming at home against Saskatchewan while the River Lions play in Guelph.