River Lions Explode in Fourth in Crucial Win Over Honey Badgers

The Niagara River Lions used an explosive fourth quarter outburst to take a 100-71 victory over the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Tuesday night at the Meridian Centre in Niagara. 

With the win, the River Lions now sit only one game behind the Honey Badgers for second place in the regular-season standings. 

The first quarter was as competitive and fast-paced as fans had anticipated coming into the contest as Hamilton and Niagara traded scores back and forth, with tough interior defense on display by both teams. The River Lions defense came up with key stops when needed as they held the high-scoring Honey Badgers bench to only 27 points, while also controlling the glass by securing 48 rebounds in total. 

“I’m pleased,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said after the game. “Since we played Guelph last week, (rebounding) was our biggest problem and the guys have really bought into that side of it. We kind of were before but were really relying on athleticism a bit. This group really has to box out. They’ve got to get bodies. So, it was good tonight.”

Port Williams, N.S. native Keevan Veinot also returned to the Honey Badgers starting lineup after being sidelined with an ankle injury, in place of the absent Thomas Kennedy, who was unavailable. 

Veinot, who failed to register a point in the game, re-introduced himself to the River Lions home crowd in style after turning a defensive steal into a beautiful alley-oop to former Duke Blue Devil Trevon Duval.

Carleton Raven guard Lloyd Pandi led all players in the first quarter with 10 points and a perfect 4-4 in shooting after coming off the bench. Eight of those points came in the final three River Lions’ possessions, with the last drive concluding on a clutch three-pointer from the corner with three seconds left to give Niagara a 23-21 lead going in the second quarter. 

“For sure, this is more the style, the brand of basketball that I play for,” Pandi said on playing more in the guard position. 

The Honey Badgers hit fire of their own by way of Alex Johnson after he went 5 of 6 from beyond the perimeter in the second quarter. The Toronto native finished the first half with a team-high 15 points. Lindell Wigginton continued to struggle early out the gate, missing his first two three-pointers before igniting for 15 points of his own in the third quarter. 

The River Lions, however, had other plans as the Carleton Ravens trio of Pandi, Tommy and Phil Scrubb combined for 15 points in the final four minutes to push their lead to five – the biggest lead of the game to that point – heading into halftime. 

The Scrubb brothers combined for 42 points, with Tommy posting a near double-double after finishing with an impressive stat line of 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. 

“They’re really good. They’re making me look better than I am, that’s for sure.” Raso said. 

The fourth quarter belonged to the River Lions throughout as they outscored their opponents 24-9 heading into the Elam Ending, where Guillaume Payen-Boucard was able to sink two free throws to seal the win for Niagara. 

The Honey Badgers will have another chance to secure the second seed heading into Championship Weekend when they take on the River Lions at home on Thursday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. 

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 android devices, and on Twitch.

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