River Lions hang on late to beat BlackJacks in wild finish

The Niagara River Lions (6-3) led almost the entire way, but needed a Guillaume Payen-Boucard game-winning layup to escape the Ottawa BlackJacks (3-7) by a score of 94-92 in front of fans at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines on Saturday night.

Neither team held a double-digit lead in the contest, and no single quarter was decided by more than three points. Inevitably, the River Lions held on late thanks to some key buckets down the stretch and tremendous perimeter defense all night.

Niagara, who came into the game leading the CEBL in steals by a wide margin at 11.4 per game, were once again hyper-aggressive on the defensive end with 14 steals on the night. Putting pressure on the opposition is a major part of the River Lions’ defensive success, and it’s all based around personnel.

“First of all, we’ve got guys who can do it, guys who can cover the ball. And they understand what our schemes are,” said River Lions’ head coach Victor Raso after the game, “We’re capable of being really disruptive defensively… we’ve got guys who can really cause problems.”

Xavier Sneed led the way for Niagara with 18 points, while newcomer Phil Scrubb was a major key off the bench with 12 points and eight assists. The team’s top performance on the night came from former Duke big man Javin DeLaurier, who stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. 

Not only was DeLaurier excellent on Saturday, but he’s been awfully consistent as of late. The double-double marked his seventh straight game with at least 15 points and nine rebounds.

“I think it’s a result of everybody in our locker room buying in to what our identity is, myself included,” said DeLaurier, “We’re all giving 100% effort. It makes it easier for me to do my job when my teammates have my back.”

“He’s so mature. He’s a four-year captain at Duke, and until you actually spend time with someone like that, you don’t realize what it means,” said Raso, “He is a very disciplined, coachable person who takes care of his body, does all the right stuff, listens, and tries his hardest. I’m not surprised with the consistency in performance because the kid might be 24 but he’s no different than a 30-year-old veteran.”

For Ottawa, the loss comes knowing that the team was just one point away from stealing a win from Niagara. Despite never leading by more than three points, that advantage came in the Elam Ending. However, cold shooting down the stretch came at the worst time, and the BlackJacks were unable to finish off the River Lions for the victory.

“At the end of the day it’s about making shots, making plays down the stretch and we left a little too much on the table,” said BlackJacks’ head coach Charles Dubé-Brais, “We had a couple of situations that we didn’t take advantage of.”

Nick Ward continued his interior domination with a game-high 28 points on 8-11 shooting from the field. Veteran forward Dominique Archie was also a major contributor for Ottawa, dropping 20 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. 

The BlackJacks were best from beyond the arc on Saturday, making 12 of their 27 three-pointers (44%). Leading the way in that category was forward Tyrell Green, who knocked down six long balls, a game after hitting five.

“I put a lot of work into it, these last few games have been good for me confidence-wise,” said Green, “At the end of the day though, I’ve got to be more solid at the end and be more reliable for my team.”

Ottawa won’t have a long turnover until its next game, as the team will take on the last-place Saskatchewan Rattlers at home on Monday at 7:00 p.m. ET. The contest will be critical for the BlackJacks to stay in strong playoff standing.

For Niagara, its next game doesn’t come until Friday, when the Guelph Nighthawks come to the Meridian Centre at 7:00 p.m. ET. 

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.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube