Honey Badgers hold off Alliance to clinch playoff berth as benches clear in Elam Ending | CBC Sports

The Hamilton Honey Badgers held off the expansion Montreal Alliance to win 79-72 on Thursday as the benches cleared at the end of the game.

Hamilton (10-3) was two points away from winning before going cold from the field, but luckily Montreal also failed to convert its attempts, including a wide-open corner three.

The Honey Badgers then stole the ball and passed it up to Michael Okafor, who dunked over an Alliance player to end the game. He landed on their shoulders before quickly jumping off. The incident started a scuffle that saw both teams’ benches clear before they were separated.

The Honey Badgers were led by Caleb Agada who scored 16 on 6-of-12 shooting, while Koby Mcewen dropped 15 and Zane Wateman added 13. Off the bench, Okafor had 11 including the game-winner, and Keevan Veinot chipped in with 10 of his own.

Montreal (3-10) was led by Ashley Hamilton, who had a game-high 23 — but it wasn’t enough for the Alliance to snap their eight-game losing skid. Dominic Green also chipped in with 14 points off the bench, and James Jean-Marie added 10. The trio were the only Montreal players to record double-digit points.

Hamilton is set to travel to Edmonton to play the Stingers on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, while Montreal will host the Fraser Valley Bandits on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Shooting Stars beat Nighthawks, extend win streak

The Scarborough Shooting Stars held off a late rally in the Elam Ending by the Guelph Nighthawks as they won 94-89 to extend their win streak to three.

The Shooting Stars were led by Harris, a former Toronto Raptors guard, who dropped 24 points, while Kameron Chatman added 18. Kalif Young and Mike also contributed 13 each.

Guelph (6-7) shot the ball well but 11 turnovers played a key role in the loss, resulting in its fourth dropped contest in a row. The Nighthawks were led by usual scoring suspects Cat Barber and Ahmed Hill — both of whom scored 25 points — while AJ Hess had 13 off the bench and Clayton Henry added 11.

Scarborough will head to Hamilton to play the Honey Badgers on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Guelph, meanwhile, travels to Niagara to take on the River Lions on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.