NIAGARA RIVER LIONS AND SASKATCHEWAN RATTLERS LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN SHOWDOWN TONIGHT

Written by Josh Kozelj

The Niagara River Lions (5-6) (-125) will look to snap a two-game losing streak and sweep the season series against the Saskatchewan Rattlers (4-7) (-108) tonight at the SaskTel Centre at 7:30 pm local/9:30 pm ET. 

The game will also be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

Both teams come into tonight’s matchup looking to bounce back from disappointing results earlier in the week. 

Niagara, who won five of their first six games in June, have lost back-to-back games to a pair of teams that sit at the top of their respective conferences. 

After dropping a game at home to Ottawa on Sunday, the River Lions blew a 17-point lead on the road in Winnipeg on Thursday and lost 93-90. 

All five starters—led by Khalil Ahmad’s team-high 24 points—shot over 55 per cent from the field. And four of the five starters recorded double digits in points. Patrick Whelan also chipped in with 11 off the bench.  

But Niagara was also outrebounded 45-31 on Thursday and gave up 22 offensive boards—which resulted in 30 second chance points for Winnipeg. The River Lions had only 4 second chance points. 

The River Lions also had trouble containing the CEBL’s second highest scorer, Teddy Allen, who recorded 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. 

Their task on defence will not get any easier tonight, as they are taking on the league’s highest scorer Justin Wright-Foreman, who is putting up over 30 points per game for the Rattlers. 

Saskatchewan snapped a five-game losing streak at home on Sunday and followed that up with a nine-point win on the road in Montréal on Wednesday. However, in the second half of a back-to-back, the Rattlers lost 97-86 to the BlackJacks in Ottawa on Thursday. 

In those back-to-back games, Wright-Foreman put up a combined 70 points, highlighted by 37 in a losing effort to Ottawa three days ago. 

Reserve Michael Nuga, who missed Saskatchewan’s home game against Scarborough last Sunday, returned on the two-game road trip and chipped in with a steady 11 and 13 points in both games respectively. The Toronto product has averaged over 13 points and 2 three pointers per game off the bench. 

Despite the loss, as a team, Niagara is still leading the league in points per game (91.6). Saskatchewan sits seventh in the CEBL with 84.4 points per game but are leading the league in three pointers—racking up 11 per contest. 

In their last meeting, on June 3, Niagara held Wright-Foreman to 21 points and used a double-double from Ahmad to dismantle the Rattlers 116-74 at home. The River Lions also forced 21 turnovers and scored 33 points off those giveaways in that game. 

After tonight’s game, Niagara will travel to Brampton to cap off their three-game road trip on July 5. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, will host Ottawa on Wednesday night. 

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.