Nighthawks forward Jonathan Arledge recorded his first double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Tre’darius McCallum registered the first Elam Ending for Guelph with a reverse layup to hit the target score of 89. McCallum led the Nighthawks with 16 points.

A slow start for both teams, Ottawa led, 16-12, after one quarter, but the BlackJacks never found their offensive groove, shooting just .375 (24-64) from the field on the afternoon. Guelph tied the game heading into halftime and came out of the locker room making serious adjustments and finding a new gear of energy. The Nighthawks outscored Ottawa 42-15 in the second half.

The drive shown by Guelph was a key factor to the win according to bench boss Charles Kissi.

“Our mindset is just to go out there and compete and be tough and stick to the game plan that we had,” Kiss added. “I thought our guy were tough and competed hard and didn’t panic. We learned a lot. I think we grew in that game, which is good for us - we have a lot more to play.”

Tommy Scrubb led all scorers with 18 points and added a team-best eight rebounds and two steals for the BlackJacks. He gave full credit to Guelph for their energy.

“It obviously wasn’t our greatest game,” said Scrubb. “We weren’t ready for the intensity and physicality. We know what we can fix, and once we fix that we will do a lot better. We will just be ready next game.”

Both Guelph and Ottawa will have a day off before taking to the court on Monday. The Nighthawks will play Hamilton, who is looking for their first win of the Summer Series after a 97-85 loss to Niagara on Saturday. The BlackJacks will face the Edmonton Stingers, who open their round robin play on Sunday afternoon at 4pm against Fraser Valley.