Guelph Host Niagara To Kickstart Week Two Of CEBL Season
The Guelph Nighthawks host the Niagara River Lions, at 7 p.m ET at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph as both teams enter this game off of a win. Niagara sits at 1-1 while Guelph is 1-0.
The River Lions beat the Edmonton Stingers (86-74) in their previous game in a rematch of the 2021 CEBL Championship game. That matchup showcased the different facets of Niagara’s offence who went up against a Stingers squad that was among the best in the CEBL in defence the previous year. The Stingers attempted to run their offence through the paint against the River Lions, and Niagara responded with the play of EJ Onu, their starting forward. EJ recorded four blocks during their game, going up against Brody Clarke and David Pekarek. Khalil Ahmad further took advantage of his athleticism in his matchup with Jahmal Jones and the Stingers guard scoring 22 points. When the River Lions used their speed to create lanes to the rim, they were able to get to the line or find their shooters on the perimeter, Jaylen Babb-Harrison further benefiting off of it with four made three-pointers. It was size against speed across the floor and Khalil Ahmad, Munis Tutu, Jaylen Babb-Harrison and EJ Onu came away with the upper hand. The River Lions will look to further use this offensive chemistry against the Nighthawks.
The Guelph Nighthawks guards have scorers of their own, and their 89-80 win over the Scarborough Shooting Stars showed that. In a matchup against Jalen Harris, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, JV Mukama and the Scarborough guards, Cat Barber, Ahmed Hill and Aj Lawson went shot for shot with the Shooting stars. Throughout the game, both teams relied on the shot creating abilities of their guards, and that's where Barber and Hill shined. Whether it was getting his way to the mid-range jumper or creating space for open shooters, Barber used his ball-handling skills to spark the Nighthawks offence. When shots weren’t falling, the Nighthawks went inside the paint, and going against Kameron Chatman and Kyle Alexander, Julian Roche handled the boards and got his team second chances. He held his own inside the paint and with his presence creating space and opportunity, the other players on the floor thrived.
The guard matchup will be one to watch in this game. With Khalil Ahmad, Munis Tutu, Ahmed Hill and Cat Barber all shining in their previous games, their ability to score and get their teammates going will be on display. The transition basketball of the River Lions will be matched by the patient and precise basketball the Nighthawks show, and ability to execute while taking care of the basketball should be what sets these two teams apart come Elam time.
When the two teams matchup and the scoring and shot creating guards hit the floor, it will be the eighth time these two teams have played each other. Niagara holds a slim 4-3 edge in the matchup, taking three of four games in 2019 while splitting the 2021 series, Guelph taking one game each season.
All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Games will also be available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
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.