The mountain had only been scaled once before. But after the most grueling season in CEBL history, the Niagara River Lions reached the summit once again. The River Lions captured the 2025 CEBL title on Sunday, beating the Calgary Surge 79-73 at Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre. Niagara joins the 2020-2021 Edmonton Stingers as the only teams ever to go back-to-back. They are also the only franchises in league history to claim multiple titles. “It feels incredible. It really does,” head coach Victor Raso said. “It’s as special of a moment as I ever had as a coach. This one, for these guys, it just cemented them. I’m really happy for them.” Khalil Ahmad was named Finals MVP after scoring 16 points, including the game-winner, while adding nine rebounds. When the clocks stopped for Target Score Time, a River Lions lead that was once 16 had been cut to three points at 70-67. Clutch as ever, Khalil Ahmad opened the proceedings with a three-pointer. After Sean Miller-Moore made a free throw at the other end, Elijah Lufile deposited a putback to move Niagara within four points of the win. Calgary then went to the line on two straight possessions around an Ahmad miss, but made just two of four attempts. Niagara moved within any bucket of the title when Nathan Cayo cashed a pair from the charity stripe himself. On the following play, Evan Gilyard II breathed some life into the Surge with a three-pointer. It turned out to be their last gasp. While the Surge earned a defensive stop, a turnover sent Ahmad streaking back the other way, where he drew a foul in the corner that sent him to the line. Attempt No. 1: splash. Attempt No. 2: ballgame. Champions. “Redemption,” said Ahmad, who missed a free throw in the same situation in last year’s Final. “I thought about exactly that, [when] I made the first one, missed the second. I was like, ‘Oof, I can’t do that again.’” The clutch free throws pushed Ahmad to his second straight Finals MVP and marked his fifth straight playoff game scoring the Target Score Time winner. He knocked down the game-winning three in Friday’s East Final against the Scarborough Shooting Stars, too. After the game, Raso had high praise for his star player, who will need to make room on his trophy case next to a number of other accolades. “He’s the greatest player to ever play in this league and he’s just a phenomenal person, so he won’t say all the things that I say, but that’s the truth,” Raso said. Captain Kimbal Mackenzie echoed Raso’s sentiment. “[It’s] getting a little bit ridiculous at this point, quite frankly,” Mackenzie joked. “When he hit that shot against Scarborough, I was like, ‘How many times is this guy gonna do this?’ He just has a knack for when those moments get big, just playing off his instincts.” The game itself proved to be a defensive grind — the lowest-scoring final in league history. No player on either team reached 20 points, and the clubs combined to make just 27.5 per cent of their three-point shots while neither reached 40 per cent overall from the field. For the River Lions, it came down to simple effort in their own end. “These guys cared a lot. There was no in-between moments that we lost. These guys were thoughtful on every defensive possession and we just kinda forced them to play to their weaknesses instead of playing to their strengths,” Raso said. Nathan Cayo was second on the River Lions with 14 points, while Ahmed Hill added 13 points and six rebounds off the bench while posting a team-high plus-16 rating. Meanwhile, the star Surge guard duo of Jameer Nelson Jr. and Gilyard II struggled mightily, combining for 16 points on just seven-for-32 shooting. “We didn’t make enough plays, but we’re a team. I’ve said it all year long,” head coach Kaleb Canales said. Canada’s Sean Miller-Moore led the way for the Surge with 19 points, while Greg Brown broke a pair of championship record with 17 rebounds and five blocks. Miller-Moore, the league’s all-time leading Canadian scorer, came up just short at his third Championship Weekend. “Every loss is a heartbreak. Even when we lose in the regular season, it’s a heartbreak. So of course this was the last game and the last time I’m gonna be with this particular group, so it hurt more, but we were a good team all season and we just came up short today,” Miller-Moore said. For Niagara, By Raso’s own admission, this season — the longest in CEBL history, with 24 games per team — was more difficult than last, as a roster featuring multiple returning players struggled at times to find motivation during the summer-long grind. Around mid-season, however, the River Lions ripped off a seven-game winning streak to clinch the Eastern Conference. And the team found its motivation. “I read a lot about teams who repeated and it all rang true,” Raso said. “It’s not gonna be like the first time. It’s gonna be hard. There’s gonna be ups and downs. You’re gonna have to find a new why. You have to shed last year.” For some, that “why” was obvious. Ahmed Hill has scored more points than anyone in league history but was still searching for his first championship. Guillaume Boucard was a River Lion two years ago, but missed last year’s title run, and sought his first title, too. Hill and Boucard were both part of the Montreal Alliance squad that fell to the River Lions in the semifinals last season. “It’s amazing,” said Hill, who added that it’s his first title at any level. “I’ve always been a player to want to score and get all the accolades, but this is one thing I always missed.” Added Boucard: “It doesn’t even feel real right now. It’s just full circle. … It’s been something that I’ve been chasing for a long time. It’s something that we always want every summer in Niagara.” Elijah Lufile wanted to win for himself to become the first player to ever three-peat; he also wanted to win for brother Meshack, a teammate who had never won before. “That’s something we can tell our kids,” Lufile said. “We just stayed true to ourselves and our identity is guys giving 100 per cent effort.” Captain Kimbal Mackenzie was a leader on last year’s team, but didn’t play much. This year, he was a relied-upon starter. And for all his league accolades, Khalil Ahmad still felt like he didn’t get the love he deserved. “I mean, sheesh. Can’t put any words on it,” Ahmad said. Raso said all the parts came together to make a roster that was underrated by some throughout the season. Now, they’re champions. “It took a while for this team to gel and find their rhythm. We have Ahmed Hill coming off the bench. He’s the leading scorer in CEBL history. That’s what bothers me when people talk about us this year the way they did,” Raso said. “This was a really, really good basketball team and when it mattered, we were awesome.” In the early going, Calgary made its presence known, racing to an 11-3 lead that was punctuated by a monstrous alley-oop jam from Brown III. But last year’s winners showed their championship mettle immediately, responding with a 13-0 run of their own to go in front. They never relinquished that lead. Through one quarter, Niagara led 21-20. Then, it turned the defence up a notch en route to a 42-36 halftime advantage as Calgary made just three of 19 three-point attempts. But momentum followed Calgary into the locker room after Nelson Jr. drained a halfcourt buzzer-beater. Still, the River Lions weren’t fazed, opening the third frame with an Ahmad three and stretching their lead to 16 after back-to-back Hill triples. Niagara took a 63-51 lead into the final quarter of the season before it ultimately prevailed. Basketball royalty was among the 7,129 total attendance for the Final, as longtime Canadian coach Steve Konchalski and Nick Elam, who created Target Score endings, both witnessed the championship game. Meanwhile, the parents of Chad Posthumus — a CEBL lifer and Winnipeg native who tragically died in November at age 33 — were on hand to present the championship trophy. Now, for the second straight year, that trophy will make a home in St. Catharines, Ont. “We fought through so much adversity,” Ahmad said. “We deserved this win.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2702972 - CEBL -

The motto in Niagara all season? Run it back. Now, the River Lions are just one win away — but standing opposite them is a thriving Calgary Surge team that’s won seven straight games to get to the Final. The championship game begins Sunday at 6 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. ET at Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre with live coverage on TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+ and NLSE. A victory for the River Lions would make them the second team ever to go back-to-back, and also the second franchise to win multiple titles, joining the 2020-2021 Edmonton Stingers. The Surge, meanwhile, are searching for their first title in their third straight trip to Championship Weekend. Niagara head coach Victor Raso said this team feels different than last year’s despite having multiple returning players. “It’s just been a very, very different season. It doesn’t matter how you do it; it just matters that you do it. And these guys got a chance to win a back-to-back championship, which is pretty cool,” he said. Raso’s River Lions finished the regular season at 14-10, going on a mid-season seven-game winning streak to clinch the East before losing their last five in a row. But when the level ramped up a notch in the East final against the Scarborough Shooting Stars, that middle-of-the-season squad showed up once more. And yet again, it was Khalil Ahmad who delivered the game-winner in a 93-91 win. Now, it’s onto the Surge. “The big thing is I know that it’s just about basketball,” Raso said. “They don’t need me to care. They care enough about this. This is why this program has been successful is because we’ve created a culture where these guys actually care about each other and winning.” Alongside Ahmad, Elijah Lufile dominated against the Shooting Stars, scoring eight points to go with 15 rebounds — a franchise playoff record — and four huge free throws down the stretch. But both will face tougher tasks in Calgary, which allowed the fewest points per game in the regular season (87.2) and collected the most steals per game (10.3). The Surge come into this Final as battle-tested as can be after winning a Battle of Alberta play-in game, beating the top-seeded Vancouver Bandits in the West semi and ousting the Winnipeg Sea Bears on their home court in front of 9,000-plus screaming fans. Calgary had the second-best regular-season record at 17-7. "Our championship poise down the stretch was big. We’ve coached that a lot this season and I just love our group,” head coach Kaleb Canales said. Calgary got through those playoff matchups on the strength of defence — a strength all season. Both Defensive Player of the Year nominees came from the Surge, in the form of guard Jameer Nelson Jr. and big man Greg Brown III. Nelson Jr. ultimately took home the trophy, but it was clear that Calgary’s defence was the product of a team effort. “Yeah, we’re the No. 1 defensive team but we always feel like we can play way better defence. That’s what we love about our team. It’s just like endless trying,” forward Sean Miller-Moore said. Miller-Moore, the league’s all-time Canadian leading scorer who is still searching for his first title, added that the Surge have plenty of fuel within them, which makes them tough to handle especially coming out of halftime. “We’re all leaders on the court. There’s nothing they can tell us that will motivate us. We’re already motivated. We know what we need to do. We know that we’re the best defending team,” he said. Given the internal motivation and the connectiveness, Raso said the Surge remind him of his own team. “They’re incredibly together. Their chemistry is really good. You can tell they like each other, they like playing basketball for each other. … They just move the ball really well. There’s a lot of togetherness, they try defensively,” Raso said. Both teams also have longtime CEBLers looking for their first title in Miller-Moore and River Lions guard Ahmed Hill, the league’s all-time leading scorer. They’re each lined with top-end stars, clutch role players and depth across the floor. Just one, however, will leave Sunday’s game with the coveted championship trophy. 2025 CEBL Playoff Schedule CW25 – CEBL Championship Final – Sunday, Aug. 24 – CGY vs. NRL – 6 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE) For the full 2025 CEBL schedule, please visit cebl.ca/games

Khalil Ahmad played hero. The Niagara River Lions won a close game. And Championship Weekend picked up right where it left off. The River Lions eked past the Scarborough Shooting Stars 93-91 in the East Final on Friday at Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre, moving one win away from repeating as league champion. Niagara’s formula looked awfully familiar as head coach Victor Raso’s troops battled in a back-and-forth high-stakes game. And when winning time came around, it was Ahmad — who scored all three playoff winners for his team last year —stepping up yet again to seal the deal. “My God, that guy has something inside of him that is just built for Target Time,” Raso said. When the clocks stopped, the River Lions led 84-83. And buoying their chances even further was the presence of Ahmad in their white-and-green jerseys. Shooting Stars forward Donovan Williams started the proceedings with a driving layup, but Ahmad answered with a pair of free throws. After Williams added two more points to put Scarborough back in front, another trip to the charity stripe for Ahmad handed Niagara the lead once again. Michael Foster Jr., then tipped home a putback for the Shooting Stars before Elijah Lufile knocked down two more free throws for Niagara. When Foster Jr. hit another layup, both teams were within a bucket of the victory. And after both teams missed their first opportunities to advance, Mr. Clutch stepped up yet again. Ahmad raced up the court, stopped on a dime above the three-point arc, and splashed home a winner under pressure from behind. Amid all the chaos, Ahmad was as cool as ever. “There wasn’t a lot of thoughts going through my head. … We needed a three, so why not take it?” Ahmad said. “Stepped into it with confidence and knocked it down.” Shooting Stars head coach Mike De Giorgio said the plan was for his team to foul in the backcourt to prevent the exact way it ended up losing. Still, he said he was proud of his team’s performance in a “high-level” game. “We handled the adversity we wanted to handle. We had chances to win the game. It just didn’t go for us and then Khalil made a big shot. That’s what he’s shown that he can do and he’s done it for years now,” De Giorgio said. Niagara will meet the winner of the West final between the Winnipeg Sea Bears and Calgary Surge in Sunday’s final. Ahmad, the 28-year-old from Corona, Calif., now has four career Target Score Winners in the playoffs — the most in league history. He also surpassed 1,500 career points (including playoffs) in style with his game-winner, sitting at 1,502 entering the Finals. For the night, he put up a game-high 29 points to go with six rebounds. He also knocked down all 10 of his free throws — notable after he missed some clutch ones last year which he said nagged at him throughout the off-season. “We were just being where our feet are and trying to be locked into the moment, take every possession for what it was. Because, look, we won by two, so it was a close game. Every possession mattered and we took care of the little things,” Ahmad said. Raso called him a “mental monster.” “He has the physical tools, the physical skills and the mental confidence to be able to want it in those moments. Because those are shots that all of these guys are capable of making, but not all of those guys are capable of taking them,” he said. Helping Ahmad was big man Elijah Lufile, who came off the bench to put up eight points and a whopping 15 rebounds. Montreal native Nathan Cayo also neared a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. The game marked the latest chapter in the Scarborough-Niagara rivalry that’s quickly growing into one of the league’s fiercest. Each of the last two championships were won by the Ontario squads, and they even split the season series, making their playoff duel a tiebreaker of sorts. Prior to Friday, however, the Shooting Stars were 2-0 in post-season contests against the River Lions. Now, Niagara has a notch on its playoff record. A major disparity between the teams came at the free-throw line, where the River Lions were a perfect 21-for-21 while the Shooting Stars went just 11-for-18. The River Lions also dominated the glass, hauling in 56 rebounds (20 offensive) to the Shooting Stars’ 40 (seven offensive). “When we sat in the press conference the other day, De Giorgio pretty much said we need some defensive rebounds so we can run. And all I’m thinking is we need to take quality shots so that they don’t have the opportunities to run. So they got us in spurts, but down the stretch there wasn’t much transition,” Raso said. Donovan Williams led the way for the Shooting Stars, matching Ahmad’s 29 points while adding 11 rebounds. Backcourt mate Terquavion Smith had a 16-point, 10-assist double-double, but missed the potential game-winner before Ahmad’s dagger. Foster Jr. added 11 points and 10 rebounds. “It was a hell of a shot to end it off, but really just ready to move forward. It’s a loss,” Foster Jr. said. Niagara entered the contest on a five-game losing streak and with 12 days of rest taking the top seed in the East. Perhaps battling some rust after that layoff, it fell behind 9-2 early but battled back to tie things at 18. However, a Williams buzzer-beater put the Shooting Stars up 26-25 after the first quarter. The back-and-forth continued in the second quarter as the teams exchanged leads. Scarborough took a narrow 50-49 edge into halftime. In the third quarter, Niagara built its biggest lead of the game at nine points. It took a 74-68 advantage into the fourth after Kobe Elvis hit the Shooting Stars’ second buzzer-beating triple of the game. Scarborough changed things quickly in the fourth quarter, erasing its deficit and regaining the lead early in the final frame after a 13-3 run. Then, another classic Championship Weekend Target Score Time ensued. And yet again, it was the Lion King who roared. Now, the River Lions are one win away from going back-to-back. “If we get it done,” Ahmad said, “you’ll see what it means.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2700727 Up Next The River Lions will meet the winner of the West final in Sunday’s championship game at 6 p.m. CDT / 7 p.m. ET in Winnipeg.  - CEBL -

Call it a tiebreaker of sorts. When the Niagara River Lions meet the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Friday’s Eastern Conference Final, it will be a battle of the past two CEBL champions. But only one will have the opportunity to become the second team in league history to hoist the trophy a second time. Live coverage of the contest begins at 5 p.m. CDT / 6 p.m. ET from Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre. You can watch on TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+ and NLSE. The similarities between the teams don’t end with their titles, either. Both endured roller-coaster seasons of sorts, with the Shooting Stars exchanging winning and losing streaks only to arrive at 11-13 (third in the East) for the season, while the River Lions ended their season with five losses that immediately followed seven wins, finishing first in the East at 14-10. The five losses were somewhat meaningless, since Niagara had already clinched. But the River Lions will have sat on that skid for 12 days by the time tip-off arrives — though they did get some live action in a closed scrimmage against Team Canada. Still, Niagara seems loose as ever entering its first knockout game of the season, bringing a football out to each of its practices and tossing cross-court heaves before getting down to business. Practice ended with a half-court shooting contest, as is ritual. Perhaps that laid-back attitude is one of the benefits of entering as the reigning champs. There are drawbacks too, though. “It challenges you in many ways. If I think back to the years in the past, specifically last year, the hunger to write what we felt like we didn't the year before was just evident in every single thing we did. This year it just hasn't always been like that because the group is confident in themselves, they are experienced, they know how long of a season it is and what you want to get at the end,” head coach Victor Raso said. Meanwhile, the Shooting Stars have already faced a pair of do-or-die games — and barely broke a sweat in either, taking leads of 18 and 26 points, respectively, into Target Score Time before beating the Montreal Alliance and Ottawa BlackJacks. It’s the same path the Shooting Stars travelled en route to their 2023 title, when they won a play-in game at home and the East semi on the road in order to face Niagara in the conference final. Head coach Mike De Giorgio was an assistant on that team. “They have a lot of the same guys available. We don't, but we have guys and a lot of our staff have been around and been in that game and have that experience. So for the most part, that's something that we've been referencing with the players and they've really stepped up to the challenge lately,” De Giorgio said. The River Lions and Shooting Stars split their four games this season, with only their first meeting in early June even being close. Both have a level of championship experience, and they understand what it takes to win tight games, in Target Score Time, in the post-season. Players to watch While their journeys to Winnipeg were similar, the River Lions and Shooting Stars employ vastly different playing styles. Scarborough boasts two of the top scorers in the league in Donovan Williams and Terquavion Smith, who have hardly let up in the playoffs, either, averaging 26 and 22 points per game, respectively. In many ways, the Shooting Stars go as their star duo goes — another 50 points combined in the East final would go a long way toward winning. On the other hand, Niagara leans more on its depth, with a guard rotation that goes deep into the bench. The head of that snake is Khalil Ahmad, the reigning Finals MVP. Ahmad is arguably the most clutch player in league history — he scored the game-winner in each of the River Lions’ three 2024 playoff victories and tied for fourth this season with four more. Ahmed Hill, the league’s all-time leading scorer, is also searching for his first title after being eliminated by the River Lions as a member of the Montreal Alliance last season. “Like they say, I got all the accolades, but I don’t have a ring. So that’s something that I want really bad. I’ve never won a championship before, so to do it with these guys would be amazing,” Hill said. 2025 CEBL Playoff Schedule CW25 – Eastern Conference Final – Friday, Aug. 22 – SSS at NRL – 5 p.m. CDT / 6 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE) CW25 – Western Conference Final – Friday, Aug. 22 – WPG at CGY – 7:30 p.m. CDT / 6:30 p.m. MT / 8:30 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE) CW25 – CEBL Championship Final – Sunday, Aug. 24 – TBD at TBD – 6 p.m. CDT / 7 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre – Winnipeg, MB (TSN, RDS, CEBL+, TSN+, NLSE) For the full 2025 CEBL schedule, please visit cebl.ca/games .

Bandits shine as Creek named MVP; Samuel claims Top Canadian and Clutch Player; Julius repeats as Coach of the Year

The Calgary Surge made sure to end their regular season on a high note, picking up a 94-76 win over the defending champion Niagara River Lions on Sunday night. Calgary’s victory in the storied Scotiabank Saddledome improved the squad to 17-7 on the year and sent the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed into the playoffs on a four-game win streak. Leading that charge was Olumide Adelodun, who finished with a game-high 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from distance to go with eight rebounds. Behind him was DJ Jackson with 15 points off the bench and Javonté Brown, who put up 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Rounding out the Surge’s double-digit scoring efforts were Evan Gilyard II with 13 points and eight assists and Jameer Nelson Jr. with 10 points. All of this was made more impressive by the fact that Calgary was without two regular starters in Gabe Osabuohien and Sean Miller-Moore. “We came to the game with an intense mentality,” Brown said after his double-double effort. “We came to play, came to win and (our secondary players) stepped up today.” On the other side, the loss dropped the River Lions to 14-10 on the season as they capped off their year on a five-game skid. Curtis Hollis led the River Lions’ effort on Sunday with 15 points off the pine to go with 10 rebounds and two steals. Khalil Ahmad wasn’t far behind as he added 13 points while Kimbal Mackenzie and Ahmed Hill scored 12 points each. While it wasn’t an ideal outcome for Hill’s squad, the game marked a milestone night for the CEBL veteran. It was his 100th appearance (regular season + playoffs), making Hill one of just three players (Alex Campbell, Malcolm Duvivier) in league history to reach the triple-digit mark for games played all-time. Meanwhile, entering Sunday, it was clear both teams were after the same thing to end the regular season before heading into the playoffs: momentum. For the Surge, it was about maintaining it as they were in the midst of a win streak and looking to finish the season with a strong 9-3 home record. Meanwhile, the River Lions were hoping to snatch some of that momentum as they rode into Calgary amid a season-worst skid and 5-6 road record despite holding onto the No. 1 seed out East and a bye into the Conference Final. Given that both teams had the same goal, it wasn’t a surprise that the ball game remained tightly contested throughout the opening frame. Niagara eked out a 24-22 lead by the end of the first thanks to a quarter-ending 5-0 run. A spark that helped the defending champs capture some of that momentum they were so desperately after, as the River Lions went on a 16-2 charge between the end of the first and start of the second to lead by as many as 16 points before halftime. That lead was short-lived, however, as the Surge answered back before the break. The home team ended the first half on a 7-2 run, including a buzzer-beating layup by Nelson that cut the deficit back to single digits, 47-39. What underscored Niagara’s halftime lead was an uncharacteristically strong showing from beyond the arc. Despite entering the night tied last in three-point makes per game (8.5) and second last in percentage (30.5), the River Lions knocked down seven triples (plus-four) through the first 20 minutes on an impressive 43 per cent clip. Yet it was Calgary’s effectiveness from deep that defined the second half. After going 3-of-14 on threes before the break, the Surge went 10-of-17 through the second half as they outscored the River Lions by 26 points (55-29). Meanwhile, Niagara did little to help itself in that regard, cooling off to the tune of just five makes on its final 19 attempts. Calgary went 5-for-9 from distance in the third, including back-to-back triples from Adelodun and Kyri Thomas at the 4:47 mark, giving the Surge the lead back for the first time since the opening frame. They ended up outscoring the River Lions 31-17 in the third quarter, turning an eight-point halftime deficit into a 70-64 lead. The Surge then pushed their advantage to 12 points by the start of Target Score Time when the long ball, once again, had the most to say. Back-to-back triples from Gilyard and Jackson were sandwiched between makes at the rim by Brown as Calgary capped off its regular season with an emphatic victory. Aside from the Surge’s production from distance, it was the squad’s trademark defensive tenacity that proved to be a catalyst in the win. While Calgary forced 18 turnovers to Niagara’s 15, the home team capitalizing on those freebies is what made the difference. The Surge finished with a 28-16 (plus-12) edge on points off turnovers. All the while, Calgary's defence has held opponents to an average of 83.8 points through its four-game win streak, beating teams by a margin of 18.8 points during that span. “It feels good,” Brown said. “Just to know that our (secondary players) can compete with one of the best teams in the whole CEBL, it gives us a lot of confidence. But we put in a lot of work, so I’m not even surprised to be honest.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600681 Next CEBL action With the regular season wrapped up, CEBL basketball will return on Thursday for Play-In action. First, the Montreal Alliance will visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars out East, followed by the Surge hosting the Edmonton Stingers in a playoff Battle of Alberta in the West. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

Edmonton and Niagara received a taste of post-season basketball on Friday. A chippy, tightly contested matchup ended in a 92-81 win for the Stingers over the River Lions at the Edmonton Expo Center in the second-last regular-season game of the year for both teams. Edmonton moved to 14-9 for the season, keeping its hopes alive of a home playoff game depending on Calgary's result later Friday. The Battle of Alberta is locked in as the Western Conference play-in game. Either way, the Stingers don't appear like they'll back down — at least if Friday's win was any indication. “We know it's going to be a dogfight against Calgary. We know it's going to be a playoff-type atmosphere. It's going to be tooth and nail, it's going to be a five-point ballgame, so for us to be able to trust each other and have that chemistry going down the stretch is going to be important,” Stingers head coach Jordan Baker said. Niagara has already clinched a spot at Championship Weekend with the top seed in the Eastern Conference but is now riding a four-game losing streak as it falls to 14-9. The Stingers fired on all cylinders right from the tip, building an early advantage and holding on even as the River Lions made a series of runs throughout the game. When the clock stopped for Target Score Time, Edmonton held an 82-76 lead. The Stingers stood tall during the game's final phase, calmly playing their game and ultimately going up 90-81. Veteran Nick Hornsby then raced in transition after a River Lions turnover, stopped up, bounced a shot off the glass and clinched the win for his team. The Stingers clearly enjoyed the win. The team danced their way down the floor after Hornsby's victory — Scottie Lindsey called the choreography “natural” — and huddled around the booth for Lindsey's post-game interview. “We're a family and winning is our main thing right now. We want to bring a championship back to Edmonton, and we're closed,” Lindsey said. The win marked the Stingers' second straight after beating the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Wednesday. Also Friday, Vancouver clinched the top seed in the West with a 102-95 victory over the Scarborough Shooting Stars. The Bandits will host the winner in the conference semifinal next Saturday. For the Stingers, it means their play-in opponent — the Surge — has been determined. “We're trying to gain momentum not only with wins, but with style of play, and I think tonight was rocky at times, but we weathered the storm and ended up on top,” Baker said. Edmonton's offense — a strength all season — keyed its latest victory as the Stingers scored 49 points in the first half, made 59 per cent of their two-point attempts and connected on 48 per cent of their overall field-goal attempts. The scoring was balanced throughout the Stingers lineup as leader Sean East II was limited to 14 points. He now needs 16 points in the Stingers' Sunday finale to break the league's single-season scoring mark. “It just goes to show how deep we are. We've been together all year … so we're just trying to keep building that chemistry and keep building toward the playoffs,” East II said. In his place, Hornsby led the way with 21 points to go with four rebounds and four assists, Lindsey added 20 points, four rebounds and four steals and forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton put up 12 points and six rebounds. Baker said he was happy with the Stingers' team-first offensive mentality. “We attacked aggressively, we found our gaps, we took advantage of mismatches. When the ball gets stagnant and we try to isolate, I think that's where we struggle a bit,” he said. Hornsby said his team's “hard-headedness” was its key to success. “They came out pretty hot in the second half. We didn't get down. We were frustrated with ourselves, just in the sense of we weren't doing what we needed to do, but we picked that back up and turned it around,” he said. The River Lions, meanwhile, are suddenly stumbling as they make their way toward Winnipeg for Championship Weekend. Niagara's losing skid comes on the heels of a franchise-record seven-game winning streak — and it may be feeling the frustration after it picked up technical crowds in the first half, including two on the bench and one against leading scorer Khalil Ahmad. Head coach Victor Raso said the River Lions have been “losing on the margins.” “It's a really tough task that we have right now and we're struggling with it. We're struggling to play meaningful, really high-level, championship-caliber basketball with nothing on the line and it's a dangerous game that we're playing here. I trust the experience of the group, but it's not ideal,” Raso said. The River Lions enjoyed a balanced scoring attack like the Stingers, with Ahmad and Ron Curry sharing the team high with 19 points each. Elijah Lufile fell just shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds, while Ahmed Hill added 11 first-half points off the bench. Captain Kimbal Mackenzie, who had 11 points of his own, said his team is still working hard despite already having Championship Weekend locked down. “We're trying to be in a mode here where we're going in with good momentum. We're a competitive group. We play basketball because we like competing, because we want to win every game,” he said. The Stingers roared to a strong start and led 23-19 by the end of the first quarter. Another strong second quarter left Edmonton with a 49-42 lead at halftime, but Niagara responded with a 7-0 run to even terms early in the third quarter. Through 30 minutes, the Stingers regained a five-point advantage at 69-64. Edmonton then kept Niagara at arm's length throughout the fourth quarter. Now, it can carry that confidence into a Battle of Alberta play-in game. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600677 Up Next Both teams are in action for the final day of the regular season on Sunday as the Stingers host the Winnipeg Sea Bears while the River Lions visit the Calgary Surge. Next CEBL Action All 10 teams play on a quintuple-header Sunday as the regular season comes to a close. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL –