River Lions Regroup After ‘Pretty Emotional Loss’ in OT at Home

After cruising along in first place for much of their inaugural season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, the Niagara River Lions finally had to give the driver's seat to someone else.

They didn't like it one bit.

Adding insult to injury, a 105-98 loss in overtime to the Edmonton Stingers on Friday night was their first at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines after starting the league play 8-0 at home.

"We didn't play like we wanted to play. It was a pretty emotional loss," general manager-head coach Victor Raso said.

"If Guillaume's (Boucard) right foot was one inch back from where it was, we would have won that game.

"We didn't play nearly as well as we could have. I know the feeling in the room was the same way.

While their time looking up at Edmonton in the standings was short, thanks to a 96-87 road victory over the Guelph Nighthawks on the following night, their third setback in four starts against the Stingers caused some soul-searching on the part of the River Lions.

Before they hit the court in Guelph, the team went over that loss and reflected on the season in general in a pre-game meeting.

"There were a lot of feelings in the room that needed to get out. The biggest thing going forward is we put it all on the table," Raso said. "We talked about it.

"We know what we need to do as a team to go forward, and we want to make sure that we reach our potential as a group."

A loss in which Niagara was outscored 13-6 in the extra frame after forcing overtime was a wake-up call for the team.

"We almost have to recommit ourselves after a season of having a lot of easy wins," Raso said. "We kind of got complacent.

"Our biggest focus now is making sure that we take advantage of an opportunity that we have as a group who really like each other to reach our potential."

Niagara went 1-3 in the season series versus Edmonton, the only team to get the better of the River Lions in league play.

Barring an upset in the semifinals the River Lions and Stingers likely will play for the championship Sunday, Aug. 25, in Saskatoon.

Raso suggested the River Lions are better than their record versus Edmonton in head-to-head play.

"I feel like the first game we let it slip. The second game we beat them by a lot," he said. "The third game they straight up beat us, and yesterday (Friday) I felt like we gave it away.

Raso, whose River Lions enter the week with a 13-4 record, said the Stingers, 12-4, are a "very good basketball team."

"I really like them. They're well put together, they have some good pieces," he added.

"But the sentiment is shared with me and the guys on our team that they're a good basketball team, but we feel like we can be better.

"They've caused some problems for us, but I feel like we haven't necessarily given them our best game yet."

He stopped short of calling the Stingers the River Lions' kryptonite.

"They've caused us problems, but we'll get them again. It's easier to be the hunter than the hunted."

Four players scored in double digits for Niagara in the loss to Edmonton: Nem Mitrovic, with a game-high 26 points; Dorian Pinson, 20; Boucard, 17; Sam Muldrow, 11.

Pinson topped the team in rebounding with 10.

Alex Johnson, Pinson, 19 each; Boucard, 17; Muldrow, 12; and Ryan Anderson, 11; paced the River Lions in points Saturday in Guelph.

Pinson came down with a game-high 11 boards as Niagara improved to 3-0 against a Nighthawks team now being coached by former Brock University men's head coach Charles Kissi.

Guelph provides the opposition Thursday when the River Lions close out the home half of their schedule with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Meridian Centre.

Niagara wraps up league play with two road games: Thursday, Aug. 8, Fraser Valley Bandits in Abbotsford, B.C.; Hamilton Honey Badgers, Wednesday, Aug. 14, at FirstOntario Centre.

So far this season the River Lions are 3-0 against Fraser Valley and 2-1 versus Hamilton.

Bernd.Franke@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1624 | @TribSportsDesk

Bernd Franke | July 28, 2019 | St. Catharines Standard