BlackJacks looking for payback against River Lions in final regular season matchup
By Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh)
Eastern Conference heavy weights face-off in the second game of a home-and-home set as the Ottawa BlackJacks (-115) head to the Meridian Centre to take on the Niagara River (-118) Lions at 3:00 pm ET on Sunday afternoon.
The game will be available for streaming live on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.
This will be the fourth and final contest this regular season between Ottawa (12-6) and Niagara (10-7), with the series currently favouring the River Lions 2-1.
For the BlackJacks, the 89-87 loss to the River Lions three days ago snapped their franchise-record eight-game win streak. It was the first time in a while that Ottawa looked vulnerable as Niagara’s defence seemed to be all over them. The BlackJacks entered the night as the league’s best three-point shooting team (38.9 per cent) but were limited to just nine makes on a 28 per cent clip.
Ottawa’s leaders, Deng Adel and Kadre Gray had solid scoring nights with 24 and 18 points respectively, but the duo gave a lot of that back with their nine combined turnovers. It seemed like the BlackJacks had figured out their giveaway problems from earlier in the season, averaging just 14.5 during their eight-game win streak, but on Thursday night they committed 20 turnovers.
Niagara’s stifling defence earned them a +15 edge on points off giveaways and should be recognized for the problems they’ve caused Ottawa all season. Through three games so far, they’ve forced 18.7 turnovers by the BlackJacks, well above their season average of 15.9 a contest.
The win was even more impressive for the River Lions considering their scoring leader had his second-lowest offensive performance of the season. Khalil Ahmad put up just 10 points on 2-11 shooting from the field and 0-4 from beyond the arch. Despite the reigning regular season MVP’s struggles, Niagara found contributions elsewhere to come out victorious.
When asked post-game about the other contributions from the River Lions that caused the BlackJacks problems, Ottawa head coach James Derouin immediately spoke about Antonio Davis Jr. and Eddie Ekiyor.
Davis put up a season-high 21 points while grabbing nine rebounds in a near double-double performance, while Ekiyor had a similar night with 18 points and eight boards.
Niagara entered the game as the league’s weakest rebounding team, averaging 36 boards a night, but managed to keep pace with Ottawa by grabbing 43, largely thanks to the duo of Davis Jr. and Ekiyor. According to Adel, the River Lions energy attacking the glass certainly played a role in Thursday night’s outcome and something Ottawa needs to match today.
“It’s a physical game,” Adel said. “You have to have that type of energy…especially do a good job of crashing the glass, so it’s trying to match that, getting stops and out and running.”
Despite the loss, there were positives for Ottawa to take away from the game. Outside of Adel and Gray, Thomas Scrubb had a strong outing as the team’s second-leading scorer with his season-high 19 points and nine rebounds. His near double-double performance was joined by Gray who along with his 18 points added in eight assists as well. The league’s assists leader (6.7 APG) continues to lead the CEBL’s best passing offence, with Ottawa averaging 20.3 dimes a night.
Despite both teams having punched their tickets to this year’s playoffs, the two squads still have lots to play for. Because the River Lions came out with a win over the BlackJacks on Thursday, they’re still in contention for the number one seed in the East. Both teams will be fighting for the top spot in the conference, trying to earn that all-important bye into Championship Weekend.
Full conference standings can be found here.
All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Full list of betting props available on BetVictor. Preview written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh).
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