Shooting Stars visit BlackJacks in nation’s capital for mid-season rematch

The Scarborough Shooting Stars (6-4) head east to visit the Ottawa BlackJacks (2-7) for their second of three regular season matchups on Thursday night.

Live coverage from The Arena at TD Place begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, available on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+, and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices.

After meeting two weeks prior, things have gone in opposite directions for both squads. Scarborough picked up a 15-point win against Ottawa on June 13, and since then, have gone 2-1 and remain half- a-game behind Niagara for top spot in the East. Meanwhile, the BlackJacks have gone 1-2 and sit at the bottom of the conference.

The Shooting Stars have been a model of consistency so far, going an identical 3-2 through the first two quarters of the year. They do, however, enter Thursday with a bit of momentum to start their three-game road trip, having won back-to-back games that coincided with the return of their top- scorer from last season.

Cat Barber made his season debut for the defending champs on Friday, helping Scarborough pick up a 13-point win over Brampton. He and the Shooting Stars followed that up with a 92-84 win over the Montreal Alliance on Sunday, and through two games Barber is averaging 16 points and 5.5 assists.

His efficiency rates haven’t been the sharpest, shooting 42.9 per cent from the field and 33.3 per cent from distance but the guard’s castmates have more than handled things while he’s brushed off the rust.

Against the Honey Badgers, Donovan Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. And in their most-recent game against the Alliance, it was Tevian Jones who did most of the damage, finishing with a 29-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with four steals.

Thanks to said standout performances, the pair of wings now lead the Shooting Stars in average scoring per game. And when you include microwave scorers Jackson Rowe and Kadre Gray and take into account head coach Devan Blair’s movement-heavy offence, it’s no wonder Scarborough averages the most points (93.5) and assists (23.4) per game in the league.

Meanwhile, Ottawa is hoping to turn a page as they return to TD Place for a three-game stand in front of a home crowd.

It’s been tough sledding for the BlackJacks as their previous three games were against the top three records in the CEBL. And after it felt like they were trending in the right direction with a four-point win to the River Lions and a tight 92-91 defeat against the Stingers, all momentum halted against Vancouver. The BlackJacks suffered a 37-point loss to the Bandits in a game they never led in the second-largest defeat any CEBL team has suffered this season.

And to add insult to injury (or rather, injury to insult), Brandon Sampson, the team’s second-leading scorer (15 points per game) went down late in the fourth quarter and was later placed on Ottawa’s injured list. The news of Sampson’s presumed long-term absence came after the BlackJacks were already dealing with injuries to leading-scorer Isiah Moore and JaKeenan Gant.

Things may seem bleak, but there’s still plenty to be optimistic about for Ottawa given the reinforcements on the way. For starters, Deng Adel is set to make his season debut against the

Shooting Stars. The 2023 All-CEBL Second teamer will immediately improve a thin frontcourt and add defensive versatility the squad has lacked while giving up the second most points per game (95.7). Last year Adel averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and a steal in 17 games with the BlackJacks.

Meanwhile, Ottawa also adds a player Scarborough is very familiar with. The team signed forward Kyree Walker on Tuesday, likely slotting in for the now-injured Sampson. The champion last year with the Shooting Stars was a two-way player, impacting both ends of the floor. In 18 games with Scarborough in 2023, Walker averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He made two appearances with the Shooting Stars this season before moving to the Ontario rival.

With nine of their final 11 games against Eastern Conference opponents, if things can break right for the BlackJacks they can easily shake up the standings. With Brampton and Montreal both at 3-8, it would take chaining together only a couple wins to jump as high as third in the East.

Previous matchup

In Scarborough’s 105-92 win against Ottawa earlier this season, it was their focus on ball-movement and perimeter play that made the difference.

The Shooting Stars racked up 31 assists (+12) as they knocked down a season-high 20 threes (+13) on a hyper-efficient 44 per cent clip. Six different players hit at least two threes, with Jones leading the way as he went 5-for-7 from downtown en route to 23 points.

About the CEBL

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.