Stingers’ strong 3rd-quarter effort fuels victory over Honey Badgers to clinch playoff berth | CBC Sports

The Edmonton Stingers used a strong third quarter and balanced offensive effort to clinch a playoff spot of their own with an 88-81 win over the CEBL-best Hamilton Honey Badgers on Sunday in Hamilton, Ont.

With five players reaching double figures in scoring, the Stingers (9-7) avenged a home loss against Hamilton (13-4) from July 9 and have now won two in a row.

The Honey Badgers, meanwhile, had their six-game winning streak halted with the loss.

After going up 11 at the end of the first quarter, Hamilton was on the wrong end of an 8-2 run that cut its lead to just two, eventually going into halftime up 45-41.

In the third, the Honey Badgers fell apart.

The Stingers went on an 11-6 run to take a 53-51 lead. From there, Edmonton went up by as much as seven to enter the fourth quarter leading 61-55.

In the final frame, Edmonton settled into an 11-point lead early, and eventually pushed its edge to 13 going into the Elam Ending.

After an 8-4 run from Hamilton to cut the deficit to four, it was Mathieu Kamba who nailed a three-pointer to seal Edmonton’s win.

Kamba led the way for the Stingers with 19 points, while Jordan Baker added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Koby McEwen scored a game-high 22 points to go along with Caleb Agada’s 16 in the loss for the Honey Badgers. 

The Stingers will take on the Scarborough Shooting Stars next on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Hamilton will look to get back into the win column in its upcoming game against the Ottawa BlackJacks on July 24 at 2 p.m. ET.

WATCH | CEBL on CBC: Hamilton Honey Badgers vs. Edmonton Stingers:

CEBL: Edmonton Stingers @ Hamilton Honey Badgers

Watch CEBL action as the Honey Badgers host the Stingers in Hamilton.

River Lions dominate Shooting Stars

Led by Khalil Ahmad and Elijah Mitrou-Long’s combined 40 points, the Niagara River Lions made a statement with a 93-70 win over the Scarborough Shooting Stars later on Sunday night in Toronto.

The River Lions (12-4) are now on a five-game winning streak and only half a game behind the Hamilton Honey Badgers for the top spot in the CEBL.

Scarborough (8-7), currently missing star Jalen Harris, is now on a two-game skid having lost to Hamilton in its last outing after a three-game winning streak.

Niagara kept it steady throughout the game, gradually building its lead from quarter to quarter while outscoring the Shooting Stars in all four.

Up 14-12 in the opening frame, the River Lions went on an 8-0 run to go up by 10 before eventually having their advantage cut to six to end the quarter.

A 6-0 run to kick things off in the second increased Niagara’s lead to 12, eventually pushing it to as much as 21 with Scarborough struggling to cut the deficit below 10. 

Entering the third quarter up 50-37, the River Lions pushed their lead back to 17, until the Shooting Stars made a slight push at the midway point of the frame. An 11-4 run cut the deficit to 10 by the two-minute mark.

However, Niagara answered back with an 8-0 run to close the frame and go into the fourth up 71-53.

Scarborough had no answer for Niagara in the final quarter as the River Lions went up 22 to start the Elam Ending. Ahmad and Mitrou-Long scored Niagara’s final nine points to seal the victory.

Antonio Davis Jr. added 14 to go along with Ahmad and Mitrou-Long’s 20-point performances in the win.

Rashad James and Isaiha Mike led the way for Scarborough with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Niagara will next face Scarborough for a rematch on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

WATCH | CEBL on CBC: Scarborough Shooting Stars vs. Niagara River Lions:

CEBL Niagara River Lions @ Scarborough Shooting Stars

Watch CEBL action as the Shooting Stars host the River Lions in Toronto.

Kennedy leads Bandits to win over BlackJacks

Thomas Kennedy scored a game-high 27 points as the Fraser Valley Bandits clinched a playoff spot and ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the Ottawa BlackJacks 95-88 on Sunday in Langley, B.C.

Kennedy’s presence was a sight for sore eyes to the Bandits (10-7), who had been without the University of Windsor product for a stretch of time due to his participation in Globl Jam, representing Canada. 

The BlackJacks (5-11) are now on a three-game losing streak of their own after looking to make a push toward the playoffs by winning four of five games prior to their current skid.

Fraser Valley’s win did not come with any level of ease though.

After taking a six-point lead after the opening frame, the Bandits went on a 19-4 run in the second quarter and went into halftime up 47-30.

However, the BlackJacks had quite the answer coming out of the break.

Ottawa outscored Fraser Valley 25-10 by the 3:39 mark to cut the deficit down to two after being down by as much as 18 earlier in the third.

The Bandits went up by as much as 10, behind strong offensive efforts from Mark Klassen and James Karnik through the first four minutes of the frame.

Down five in the Elam Ending, Walt Lemon Jr. scored all seven of Ottawa’s points in the period but his efforts alone were not strong enough to bring down Fraser Valley.

Shane Gibson scored 25, with Karnik adding 23 in the Bandits win.

Lemon Jr. led the BlackJacks with 24, while Zena Edosomwan and Bernard Thompson added 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Fraser Valley will take on the Niagara River Lions next on July 25 at 7 p.m. ET. Ottawa on the other hand, will go head-to-head with the Newfoundland Growlers on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

All games can be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Sports App, and CBC Gem.

WATCH | CEBL on CBC: Fraser Valley Bandits vs. Ottawa BlackJacks:

CEBL Ottawa BlackJacks @ Fraser Valley Bandits

Watch CEBL action as the Bandits host the BlackJacks in Langley, B.C.