River Lions Halt Skid with Victory Over Scuffling Sea Bears

In the battle between struggling Niagara and Winnipeg, one team was assured of a get-right win.

The River Lions made sure it was them.

Niagara dispatched of the Sea Bears 93-82 on Friday at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., snapping its two-game skid and padding its lead atop the Eastern Conference.

Winnipeg, meanwhile, suffered its fourth consecutive loss. Niagara now sits at 8-5, while Winnipeg falls to 5-9.

“I mean, it was the bounceback that we needed,” River Lions head coach Victor Raso said. “I thought we played hard the entirety of the game. We played better basketball than we have been in the past, so that was a big step in the right direction.”

The River Lions controlled most of the game, leading by double digits much of the way, until the Sea Bears injected a scare with a fourth-quarter run that cut their deficit to five.

It was as close as they would get.

Niagara led 83-74 when the clock stopped for Target Score Time, which began explosively. After Jalen Harris hit a two-pointer to start the proceedings, the teams traded three-pointers on four straight possessions with Khalil Ahmad and Ron Curry hitting for Niagara, while Harris hit both for Winnipeg.

Shortly after, Ahmad reinforced yet again why he has become known as the Target Score King, splashing home a step-back three-pointer to seal the River Lions victory.

“it's all about continuity and putting together that game after game after game after game, so if we can stay continuous, then we'll be alright,” Ahmad said.

For Niagara, the long-awaited win came on the back of its defence.

The River Lions entered Friday’s action allowing the most points against per game in the league and having given up a combined 193 points in its two losses.

But on Friday, they held the Sea Bears to just 34 points in the middle two quarters and forced 19 total turnovers.

“We defended really well, especially for the first three quarters up in the game, really up until the points of the game where Jalen Harris started making shots, I thought we were defending quite well,” Raso said.

Ahmad led the way for Niagara with 26 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. He made nine of 17 field-goal attempts, and two of his three triples came during Target Score Time.

Elijah Lufile came off the bench for a near-double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds, while do-it-all guard Kimbal Mackenzie contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Ahmed Hill, the CEBL’s all-time leading scorer, had 12 points to move within five of becoming the first player in league history to reach the 1,500-point plateau (including playoffs).

Ron Curry returned for the River Lions after a five-game absence, scoring eight points and dishing three assists.

But Ahmad also credited his team’s defence for the win.

“Defensive toughness, defensive intensity, just being together on defence because offence isn't really our problem. We just got to stay consistent defensively,” he said.

On the flip side, Winnipeg’s defence — which entered just one-tenth of a point better than Niagara per game and will exit with the dubious title of league’s worst defence — continued to struggle.

Niagara’s offence made 45 per cent of its three-point attempts and five different players scored in double digits.

Head coach Mike Taylor pinpointed focus as the reason for his team’s losing streak.

“We really had a spirited comeback, put ourselves in a good position, but there were too many possessions in the early part of the game where we kind of got in our own way. And it's been a theme at times. We've been inconsistent,” he said.

“And today that put us behind the eight ball to 19 turnovers. We've been a team that's taken care of the basketball really well all year. Unfortunately, today, we were a little bit disorganized.”

Sea Bears leading scorer Simi Shittu was ejected from the game early in the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth personal foul.

In his place, Winnipeg native Emmanuel Akot paced his squad with 22 points to go with six rebounds and two assists. Harris ended with 21 points after his Target Time splurge.

Akot said Winnipeg let Niagara build too big of an early lead, but he was happy with his team’s spirit to fight back.

“But at the end of the day, winning is what matters, and we just got to go back to the office and figure things out,” Akot said.

Canadian Olympian Dillon Brooks, who was recently traded from the NBA’s Houston Rockets to the Phoenix Suns, attended the game.

The River Lions led 28-24 after a fast-paced first quarter and extended their lead to 51-38 by halftime. They took a 73-58 advantage into the final frame.

But in the end, it was Ahmad — as per usual — coming up clutch when it mattered most, and Niagara was able to leave its home arena with a win.

Box Score

https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600635

Up Next

Niagara heads to Montreal to face the Alliance on Sunday, while Winnipeg wraps its three-game road trip in Saskatchewan against the Rattlers next Friday.

Next CEBL Action

The surging Ottawa BlackJacks visit the Rattlers in Saturday’s lone contest. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games.

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