Honey Badgers use furious comeback to earn second straight win, knock off Shooting Stars
The Brampton Honey Badgers (5-8) overcame an eight-point deficit in Target Score Time to shock the Scarborough Shooting Stars 98-96 (6-6) at home on Sunday afternoon.
After trailing for a majority of the game, Elijah Mitrou-Long came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his team-high 20 points in the frame, including the clinching layup through traffic on the final possession. The victory also marked Brampton’s second straight comeback win, as the Honey Badgers came back from down 12 at halftime on Friday against Montréal.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know that I got the game winner,” Mitrou-Long said after the game. “I scored the layup, ran back, and saw everybody running towards me. Then I was like, ‘that’s it.’”
David Walker, a former Scarborough Shooting Star, also chipped in with 20 points off the bench. And including Jas Newby’s 12 points, Brampton’s bench outscored the starting lineup 56-42, earning the Honey Badgers their first victory over Scarborough in three tries this season.
“I think it was huge for our morale, our confidence, and just coming together as a team, knowing that we can comeback from a deficit like that,” said Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy.
Scarborough, the second highest scoring team in the league heading into today’s game, started the first quarter with some slick ball movement.
Cat Barber, who finished with a team-high 20 points but 11 costly turnovers, was an early facilitator, securing a hockey assist on a Jackson Rowe corner three that started the game. He also drew a couple early fouls on Brampton’s leading rebounder, Prince Oduro, who hauls in more than six boards per game, within the first few minutes — leading to a major rebound disadvantage on the glass for the Honey Badgers.
Scarborough outrebounded Brampton 49-32 in the game, but 25 turnovers plagued the Shooting Stars all afternoon.
Walker, a member of Scarborough’s 2023 CEBL Championship team, scored eight of his 20 points in the first half. Later in the first, Walker, who previously scored a season-high 18 points against the Shooting Stars in their previous meeting, was fouled as he knocked down a jump-step floater in the paint. He converted the free throw that evened the game at 14.
“I take it personal because, you know, I left, [coming] back to face them, I wasn’t trying to lose,” Walker said.
After the Shooting Stars took a one-point lead heading into the second quarter, tensions started to mount for both squads.
In the first few minutes of the frame, Rowe picked up a technical foul after arguing that Walker travelled on a one-on-one layup to the hoop. And on the next possession, Zane Waterman, Brampton’s all-time leader in games played who earned his 250th career rebound in the first quarter, fouled Donovan Williams on the baseline after a dunk.
When the dust settled, combining the Williams dunk and ensuing free throws, it turned out to be a four-point possession for the Shooting Stars, as they took a 39-33 lead. Later in the frame, Scarborough head coach Devan Blair was called for the game’s third technical foul following a moving screen called on Kalif Young.
Brampton, despite losing the rebound battle 30-12 in the first half, stayed within a handful of points largely due to Scarborough’s inability to hold onto the ball — 11 first half turnovers — and get any consistency from the three point line. The Shooting Stars shot 2-14 as a team from deep in the first two quarters, and only ended up with six threes on the game.
“Target Score started and we stopped competing, which has kind of been the story of our year so far,” Blair said.
But a LJ Thorpe turnover led to a hard foul on Kadre Gray and a pair of free throws to end the half, as Scarborough took a 51-45 advantage into the locker room. After the break, the Shooting Stars extended their lead to as many as 15 points at one point on the back of eight points in the third by both Barber and Williams.
However, seven more Scarborough turnovers allowed the Honey Badgers to hang around, climbing to within 10 points heading into the final frame.
Seconds before Target Score Time, Walker knocked down a triple to make it 87-80. Scarborough then added a free throw before the game clock shut off, but Brampton quickly went on a 6-0 run thanks to four points from Mitrou-Long, who gave Brampton their first lead since early in the second quarter with a three pointer a few possessions later.
As Target Score Time progressed, foul trouble started to become an issue for both squads. Scarborough’s Williams, who recorded 16 points on the night, notched his fifth foul before Brampton lost both Zane Waterman and Oduro on foul calls later in the frame.
The two teams traded buckets, but two free throws by Barber brought the Shooting Stars within one point of the win. Mitrou-Long, however, knocked down a three pointer to tie the game at 96. On the ensuing Scarborough possession, Rowe pushed off on a drive to the hoop, resulting in an offensive foul, and allowing Brampton to seal the game with Mitrou-Long’s layup down the floor after the whistle.
With the victory, Brampton moves to within one win of Scarborough in the Eastern Conference standings. The Honey Badgers will return to the court on Wednesday against the Calgary Surge. Scarborough, meanwhile, will look to rebound in a game in Saskatchewan on Friday night.
These two teams will meet again on July 20.
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A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
