Niagara River Lions Winning Ways Continue With Victory Over Saskatchewan
By Justine Jones
Jaylen Babb Harrison led the way with 25 points for the Niagara River Lions (5-3) in their 86-74 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-9) on Tuesday night at the Meridian Centre.
The River Lions guard finished at the rim and also contributed from deep, shooting 60 per cent from beyond the arc. With the victory, Niagara has now won four of its last five games,
and continues to assert itself as a championship contender. The River Lions currently rank fourth in the CEBL, just one game behind their QEW rivals, the Hamilton Honey Badgers (6-3).
Niagara started tonight’s game with great energy, looking to build off a Saturday night win over the Honey Badgers. The team’s defence was solid early on and this allowed the River
Lions to get out in transition, registering 11 first half fast break points compared to Saskatchewan’s four. Niagara is among the most athletic teams in the CEBL, and thrive when they’re
able to run the floor and make lay ups. Their team was able to do just that tonight, and this made all the difference for the River Lions who outscored the Rattlers in the paint, 42-20.
Javin DeLaurier put up another strong performance for Niagara, registering his fourth double-double of the season (17 points, 11 rebounds).
A back-and-forth first half ended with a pair of big plays by River Lions forward Guillaume Payen-Boucard. The Montreal native had steals on two consecutive plays that eventually led to
dunk by DeLaurier, and an alley oop to Xavier Sneed who took contact and finished a three-point play. The River Lions ball movement was consistent throughout the game, and Payen-
Boucard finished with a game high six assists. Veteran CEBL guard Philip Scrubb made his River Lions debut tonight and made an immediate impact, finishing with five assists.
“Phil’s a great addition we love having him here,” said Babb Harrison. “He gave us a calming presence and we just executed what we had to do.”
Devonte Bandoo led the way for the Rattlers once again, finishing with 23 points and eight rebounds. The former Baylor Bear was sharp right from the opening tip off, and had two early
three-pointers to kick start the Rattlers offence.
Saskatchewan showed off efficient perimeter ball movement which helped generate open looks for the team’s shooters. In the third quarter, a deep-three pointer by a falling Nervens
Demosthene tied the game at 43. However, a 21-8 Niagara scoring run to close the frame put the Rattlers in a difficult position to begin the final quarter.
Kemy Osse was welcomed back into the Rattlers lineup for the first time since opening night, and the six-foot-one guard contributed 10 points in his return. Osse’s offence helped
Saskatchewan’s benched outscore Niagara 30-8, and the team will certainly need more of this secondary scoring as they continue in the second half of this CEBL season.
“We have to be consistent for 40 minutes without those lapses in scoring. It’s the same thing against Edmonton we played 28 great minutes against them but then we fell apart down
the stretch,” said head coach Conor Dow. “It’s not a happy locker room in there right now but all we can do is get out, get better and compete. We have another opportunity Thursday
that we need to take advantage of.”
Saskatchewan will continue its road trip by travelling to the Sleeman Centre to take on the Guelph Nighthawks (2-6) on July 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Next up for the Niagara River Lions is the Ottawa BlackJacks (3-5), who they will host on July 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Meridian Centre.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service, CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and
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