BlackJacks hit 15 threes and defeat River Lions 101-87

The Ottawa BlackJacks caught fire from long-range to fuel them to a 101-87 win over the Niagara River Lions on Saturday at the Meridian Centre. 

Tyrrel Tate’s six threes and 24 points both led the way for Ottawa in the victory. Tate hit a corner three in target score time and missed just once from long range in the contest. 

“It feels good to be with a bunch of guys that believe me,” Tate said post-game. “We kept believing, we never lost faith. We know what kind of team we are. We're resilient. And the guys believe me to take those shots.”

Without Kadre Gray in the lineup due to injury, other BlackJacks stepped up with five players reaching double figures. Reigning CEBL Canadian Player of the Year Caleb Agada made his 2023 debut for Ottawa with 17 points and six assists. 

“[Agada]’s a leader. He came in first practice yesterday, he was just a leader vocally,” Tate said. “We've seen what he can do last year and it's great to have a great addition like that on the team.”

Ottawa was impressive offensively all night, shooting 55 per cent from the field, 57 per cent from three and 85 per cent from the line. The BlackJacks hit 15 threes and dished out 25 assists on 36 field goals. 

Jackson Rowe secured a double-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and the game-winner. Ottawa forward Deng Adel did it all again with 16 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Maxime Boursiquot added 11 points and six rebounds. Despite falling short of the 10-point mark, Zena Edosomwan still contributed seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. 

On the other side, Niagara struggled to hit from the charity strip at 58 per cent with 13 misses. However, the River Lions dominated the offensive rebounding battle with 16 and forced 18 Ottawa turnovers. 

“Every game is a playoff game. It's why we can't have nights where it's like this,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said. “You try hard but mentally, it's like you beat this team last week [and think] it's all gonna be relatively easy. It's not.”

Jahvon Blair paced the River Lions’ offence with a team-high 22 points. The BlackJacks were mostly able to contain reigning league MVP Khalil Ahmad who finished with 11 points, four assists and two steals. 

Meanwhile, 2022 Defensive Player of the Year EJ Onu showed off his elite athleticism with a collection of highlight reel dunks and rejections at the rim. Onu tallied 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks in the loss. TJ Lall also played an all-around game with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals for the River Lions. 

A fast-paced first quarter saw both teams excel offensively. Each team came out of the gates on fire from long range, with 11 threes combined at over 70 per cent each. A reverse layup from Boursiquot late in the frame helped Ottawa to a narrow 25-24 lead after 10 minutes. 

The BlackJacks started the second quarter on a 7-0 run to force a timeout for Raso. Ottawa went on another mini-run and extended their lead to as much as 13 after a corner three from Agada. However, Niagara closed out the half on a 9-0 run of their own, capped off by a high-flying transition jam from Onu and a buzzer-beating tip-in from Walker. The BlackJacks carried a 49-45 lead into the third quarter. 

Ottawa continued to cook from three to start the second half. Tate and Adel hit a pair of triples each while Agada also got going with an and-one plus a pair of elbow jumpers. The BlackJacks picked up their largest lead of the night to that point at 16 points, but the River Lions closed the gap to 77-65 heading into the final quarter.

Niagara missed some crucial free throws in the fourth and back-to-back finishes from Adel gave the BlackJacks an 18-point lead. Blair scored seven straight points for Niagara to cut into the deficit but Ottawa took a 91-76 lead into target score time. 

Blair continued to find ways to score with free throws and a triple, but Ottawa weathered a late push from the River Lions. A crafty pass from Agada to Edosomwan for an inside finish put Ottawa a bucket away from victory and Rowe hit the game-winner from the corner.

Ottawa’s record improves to 5-5, while Niagara drops to 5-5. The teams will meet again on July 20 at TD Place. 

The River Lions will now hit the road for a three-game trip that starts in Winnipeg on Thursday. Ottawa will return to TD Place for a three-game homestand that starts with a matchup against Brampton on Tuesday. 

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

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 71 per cent of its 2022 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. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. 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.