BlackJacks, Alliance finishing home-and-home series in Ottawa looking to enter Eastern Conference fray

Fresh off their first win of the season in a thriller in Montreal, the Ottawa BlackJacks (1-3) will be looking to finish off this home-and-home series with the Alliance (1-4) with another win as both sides look to get themselves firmly in the hunt in the Eastern Conference.

The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET from TD Place, with live coverage available on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+, RDS.ca, the RDS app, Courtside 1891 (outside of North America) and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. The game will also be televised on TSN, RDS and NLSE in the United States.

Additionally, the game will feature the first all-female Canadian officiating crew to work a professional men's basketball game as part of the BlackJacks’ Women in Sports night.

Ottawa managed to pick up its first win of the season last Wednesday on a wild sequence in Target Score Time that saw Montreal throw the ball away underneath their own basket into the waiting arms of BlackJacks forward Isaih Moore, who was parked right underneath the Montreal hoop and laid the ball in to win it, 87-86.

Playing in just his first CEBL season, the 23-year-old Moore has quickly turned into a star for the BlackJacks, leading the team in scoring (21 points per game), rebounding (10 rebounds per game) and field goal percentage (56.8 per cent from the field), while also taking the most shots (14.7 field goal attempts per game) on the team.

The 21 points and 10 rebounds per contest Moore is averaging is also good for third-best in the league, each.

The 6-foot-10 Moore last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League after he went undrafted by the NBA coming out of Fresno State.

So far, the physicality that’s seen in the CEBL and the fast tempo that Ottawa wants to play at has been a perfect match for the rugged, athletic style of play that Moore has shown over his three-game CEBL career.

In last week’s game, the BlackJacks were able to find success in the pick-and-roll, with Moore’s dives to the basket looking virtually unstoppable, particularly when paired up with Ottawa guard Brandon Sampson, who had 21 points last time out, because of the fear of what he can do as both a shooter and a driver attacking the basket.

“Brandon’s a good player, so I definitely like running the pick-and-roll with him,” Moore said of his teammate after the win last week.

Finding a way to control Moore and Sampson figures to be a major focal point for the Alliance heading into Tuesday’s rematch, but more than anything they’ll need to clean up their turnovers.

Montreal was the better team last week but ended up shooting itself in the foot by committing 20 turnovers.

Nine of those giveaways, alone, ended up being coughed up by Chris Smith, who has emerged as a star for the Alliance in his debut CEBL season.

The 6-foot-9 Smith is averaging 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game on 58.5 per cent shooting. His versatile game that allows him to score at all three levels has made him a tough cover for everyone he’s faced over the five games he’s played in the CEBL thus far.

As talented as he is, though, turnovers have been a problem for Smith. He’s averaging 4.6 turnovers per game and has had three games already with at least five turnovers.

He and his Alliance teammates will need to get that cleaned up. If they do, they’ll have a great chance to come away with a win in Ottawa.

A victory Tuesday for either side will give that team two on the season. That doesn’t sound like much, but with the way the Eastern Conference has been going to begin the 2024 campaign, that’s a significant win total to get yourself into the thick of things for better playoff seeding and to potentially win the conference.

Every game matters, and it feels like these games are even more important for teams in the East because the opportunity is there for the taking with the top records sitting at only 3-2.

Key matchup

The Moore-Smith matchup is an important one, without question, but more intriguing might be the matchup between guards Freddy Ibrahim and Jordan Bowden on Montreal and Ottawa’s Sampson and Lloyd Pandi.

Even if the Alliance manages to correct some of the turnover woes they faced last week, there’s no reason to think Tuesday’s affair won’t be another close one, and in tight games it’s normally guards that dictate the flow and outcome.

All four of these players made big shots during different parts of the game last week, so we could be in for another showdown again.

Milestone watch

●       Montreal’s Guillaume Payen-Boucard, of Montreal, Que., needs 12 points to reach 500 for his career, regular season only.

●       Montreal’s Ahmed Hill needs seven rebounds to reach 250 for his career, regular season and playoffs.

●       Ottawa’s Jermel Kennedy, of Malton, Ont., needs eight rebounds to reach 250 for his career, regular season and playoffs.

●       Montreal’s Guillaume Payen-Boucard, of Montreal, Que., needs two assists to reach 100 for his career, regular season only.

●       Ottawa’s Tyrrel Tate needs seven assists to reach 100 for his career, regular season and playoffs.

●       Ottawa’s Lloyd Pandi, of Ottawa, Ont., needs nine assists to reach 100 for his career, regular season only.

●       Montreal’s Ahmed Hill needs three steals to reach 50 for his career, regular season only.

2024 season series

These two teams met just last week with the BlackJacks winning in a thriller during Target Score Time, giving Ottawa its first win of the season.

- CEBL -

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 73% of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. 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. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.