KHALIL AHMAD LEADS THE WAY IN 99-86 NIAGARA RIVER LIONS WIN OVER CALGARY SURGE

Written by Josh Kozelj

The Niagara River Lions (5-4) scored 31 points off turnovers to notch their third straight win in a 99-86 victory over the Calgary Surge (6-5) in a Friday afternoon matinee. 

Reigning CEBL MVP Khalil Ahmad led the way for the River Lions, who along with winning their third consecutive game, have now won five of their past six games since he joined the team on June 3. 

“He knows that we’re so confident in him,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said after the game. “Khalil was great and bad throughout the whole course of the game, but he stuck with it and we stuck with him.” 

Ahmad finished with a game-high 30 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals. He also turned the ball over six times.

Niagara’s high-powered offence—averaging roughly 91 points coming into today—was too much to handle for a normally stingy Surge defence. Calgary came into today having given up 90 points only once through their first 10 games. 

However, following a 93-80 loss in Brampton to the Honey Badgers on Wednesday night, today’s game marked the second time Calgary has given up 90 or more points. It was also the most points that the Surge have given up in a single game all season. 

Carelessness with the ball led to easy buckets in transition for Niagara. Calgary turned the ball over 23 times, which resulted in 31 points for the River Lions—21 of which came on the fast break.  

“The reason Niagara scored more points today was because of the transition they got from turnovers to offence,” Calgary head coach Nelson Terroba said. “I thought our defence was very good today in the half court, our after turnover defence wasn’t great.” 

The game was tight from the jump, as Admon Gilder Jr. gave Ahmad fits in the first quarter. 

With Sean Miller-Moore scoring 9 of his team-high 23 points in the first, Gilder Jr. was the primary player guarding the reigning MVP—holding Ahmad to just two points (a pair of free throws) and no field goals in the frame. 

But while Ahmad struggled to find his footing, his backcourt mate Jahvon Henry-Blair picked up the slack to keep the River Lions within striking distance. Henry-Blair was perfect in the first quarter, notching 8 points and 2 three pointers. 

Henry-Blair finished with 16 points and 4 threes and shot 66 per cent from the field. 

After taking a 42-37 lead into half, the River Lions capitalized on Calgary’s inability to take care of the ball to build a lead. The Surge turned the ball over six times in the third, which resulted in 10 Niagara points.  

Ahmad, after turning the ball over five times in the first half, only turned it over once in the second half. 

“I was forcing it a little bit in the first, I just decided to calm down a little bit,” Ahmad said. 

Guard Stefan Smith did all he could do to keep Calgary in the game. The Ajax, Ontario product, who scored 19 points on 50 per cent shooting in the game, splashed 3 of his 4 three pointers in the third quarter and kept Calgary within 9 points when the fourth quarter began. 

The lead would be insurmountable, however, as Ahmad continued to slice to the bucket with ease and his teammates chipped in offensively. 

Four of Niagara’s five starters scored 12 points or more, and the River Lions racked up 48 points in the paint. Over half of Calgary’s points (44) also came in the paint. 

The River Lions took a 90-78 lead into target score time, and one point within victory, Ahmad drew a foul on a layup attempt at the hoop and ended the game in his first free throw attempt. 

With the victory, Niagara moved into a three-way tie for first place in the eastern conference. The River Lions will look to create some separation in the standings in a matchup tomorrow night against the Ottawa BlackJacks.

Calgary, meanwhile, will end their three-game road trip on Sunday in Vancouver against the Bandits. 

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the 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.