Scarborough Shooting Stars clinch playoff berth in 103-93 win over Montréal Alliance
Kassius Robertson’s season-high 27 points led the Scarborough Shooting Stars (10-7) to a 103-93 victory over the Montréal Alliance on Saturday night as they confirmed their spot in the 2023 CEBL playoffs.
The Toronto, Ontario, native had his best game of the season as he knocked down a season-high seven triples, shooting over 50 per cent from the field and beyond the arch.
“It was a good statement win for us,” said Robertson after the game. “We’re playing like a team…it’s fun to be out there and my guys were finding me tonight.”
He wasn’t the only contributor for the Shooting Stars in their third consecutive win, as all five starters scored in double figures. Cat Barber and Kalif Young each notched a double-double, with Barber putting up 18 points and 10 assists, while Young had an 11-point, 11-rebound performance. Chaundee Brown Jr. and Isiaha Mike rounded things out with 21 and 19 points respectively.
On the other side, Ahmed Hill led the way with 27 points of his own and nearly notching a double-double with nine rebounds.
“Just to be ultra-aggressive,” said Hill post-game on his mindset coming in. “Last game I felt like I had a solid game but I wasn’t aggressive and I wasn’t happy with the performance and let my team down. Today I wanted to come out and get going, to try and get a win.”
Meanwhile Derek Brown Jr., Elijah Ifejeh and Christian Rohler each had season-high scoring nights, putting up 15, 14, and 12 points each.
Fans at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre were treated to a high-scoring affair through the first quarter of this contest, as both teams shot over 50 per cent from the field and 60 per cent from deep.
The high clip at which the two teams were scoring was surprising considering Scarborough and Montréal rank in the bottom-half of the league in terms field goal percentage, both shooting under 43 per cent a night. With the two teams scoring with relative ease, neither squad was able to build a sizeable gap in the score. The lead changed 10 different times throughout the first, and fittingly, it was looking like the game was going to be tied heading into the second, until Kyree Walker said otherwise.
His only basket of the game till that point came on a spinning layup at the buzzer to give Scarborough a 27-25 lead to end the first.
A majority of the second quarter went similarly to the first as both teams kept trading baskets – the lead changing hands seven more times – as they remained tied 40-40 halfway through the frame. That was when Kassius Robertson singlehandedly took over for the Shooting Stars, helping them build the biggest lead of the game so far.
The Toronto, Ontario, native scored 11 straight points for the Shooting Stars, leading a 7-0 run all by himself. Robertson ended the half with a game-high 17 points on 6-9 shooting, knocking down five triples on route, and giving Scarborough a 61-49 lead as the two teams went into the break.
“When the second one goes in you hunt for the ball,” Robertson said. “Once the third one went in, I knew I needed the next one. I was hunting it at that point, just trying to stay aggressive.”
After finishing the first half just one-point shy of tying his season-high, Robertson quickly passed the mark as he scored the Shooting Stars first four points of the third.
Scarborough built their lead up to as many as 18 points throughout the quarter, but Montréal showed they weren’t going to go out quietly. The Alliance ended the quarter on a 12-3 run that cut the lead down to single digits. Christian Rohler led the way with six points – on route to his new season-high mark - in the quarter as Montréal trailed 78-69 headed into the fourth.
“He came out and played his butt off,” said Montréal head coach Derrick Alston Sr. on Rohler’s performance. “He was playing in front of some family, so I think that gave him an extra boost, but hopefully he can take that into the next game too.”
The Alliance got the lead down to as little as six points, but the Shooting Stars seemed determined to clinch a playoff berth in front of their home fans. Scarborough went on an 11-2 run after that point, building their lead back up to 15 points.
Ahmed Hill tried his best to keep Montréal in it as he drilled a triple moments before the game reached Target Score Time, making it a 93-81 game.
Hill and the Alliance weren’t done there as they made things interesting by scoring 12 points during the final frame of this game. Howevever, like he’d been doing all night, Roberston stepped up and provided an answer for the Shooting Stars.
The guard knocked down two triples in Target Score Time to put them to within one basket of ending things and that was when Chaundee Brown Jr. ended things with a layup, 103-93 the final.
Montréal continue to fight for their first playoff berth in franchise history as they head home to host their main opponent for said playoff spot in the Brampton Honey Badgers, on Sunday.
Scarborough with the victory remained tied with Niagara for second place in the East and now get five days off until they return to action on July 26 where they’ll take on the Brampton Honey Badgers.
“We have to stay hungry,” said Barber post-game on the team’s mentality taking on Brampton. “We’re going to get in there and act like we don’t have a clinched spot [in the playoffs].”
All games are available on TSN+ and CEBL + powered by BetVictor. Recap written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh).
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. The CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
