Edmonton Stingers Take On Brampton Honey Badgers in Cross-Conference Clash

The Edmonton Stingers (+150) continue their three-game road trip as they take on the defending champion Brampton Honey Badgers (-211) from the CAA centre on Friday at 7:30 pm ET.

Fans can watch the game via streaming live on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

Tonight’s contest will mark the first and only time these team’s will face-off in the 2023 regular season.

Going back to last year, these teams split their two matchups, and it was the road team surprisingly coming out on top in both occasions. The deciding factors in those games seemed to be which team shot more efficiently and secured the ball off the glass. Through both contests, the winning team shot 47.5 per cent from the field on average and were a +6.5 on rebounds.

It’ll be hard to tell if those factors will play a role again, as these rosters look somewhat different than they did a year ago. For instance, Jordan Baker – now head coach for the Stingers – was at those games against the Honey Badgers, but as a player.

Players like Christian Vital for Brampton or Nick Hornsby for Edmonton weren’t a part of those games and will likely play a part in this one. Vital lead’s his team in scoring and is currently fourth in the league for that category, averaging 20.1 points per game, five rebounds, and five assists. Hornsby is tied for second-most points per game on the Stingers roster at 13, while also contributing six rebounds and five assists per game.

Despite the roster changers, there are also a few returnees from those games such as 2022 CEBL Sixth Man of the Year Koby McEwen. Through those contests he averaged 17 points and four assists on 50 per cent shooting for the Honey Badgers. On the other side, Brody Clarke – who leads the team in scoring this year - also played in both games and nearly had a double-double in Edmonton’s win when he put up 12 points and nine rebounds.

Fast forward to this season Brampton is currently tied at the top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 5-4 but have no reason to feel comfortable as the third placed team is just half a game back.

The Honey Badgers most recent game ended in victory when the club took on the second-place team in the West in the Calgary Surge and came out with a convincing 93-80 win. Brampton came out on top in unusual fashion, as a team typically known for their offensive prowess, dominated defensively.

They forced Calgary into 17 turnovers and capitalized on those takeaways by converting them into 19 points. Despite averaging in the bottom-half of the league in terms of steals per game, the squad stepped up and had eight on the night. Adding to that was an impressive six blocks by the team, four of which came from Zane Waterman alone.

Another surprising part in the win was who led the way for the Honey Badgers. The familiar scoring duo of McEwen and Vital combined for just 27 points on a combined average of sub-40 per cent from the field. It was their sixth man Cody John who took charge for the team as he scored a season-high 17 points in just 20 minutes off the bench on 75 per cent shooting. His production bolstered a +29 advantage on the night for Brampton’s bench unit.

On the other side, Edmonton come into this game on little rest as they’ll be on the second night of a back-to-back. The team’s contest a night ago finished with their three-game win streak being snapped by the Scarborough Shooting Stars via an 88-83 defeat, putting them at a record of 4-4. A big reason for that was the stellar play of Cat Barber for the Shooting Stars as he dropped 34 points with five triples being drained in the process.

The performance from Barber was the second outburst the Stingers have allowed to a top-five scorer in the CEBL. When they played against the Winnipeg Sea Bears, star guard Teddy Allen scored 27 points. Both players scored with ease as Barber and Allen shot above 55 per cent from the field in their respective games. With that in mind, keep an eye on how they defend Brampton’s Vital – another one of those top-five scorers in the league – and if they can contain him.

Despite the loss, the Stingers showed a lot of positive signs as they kept it close against a team that’s clearly feeling it – as Scarborough has now won four consecutive games. The team struggled from the field as a whole but outpaced their regular numbers from the distance. They knocked down 12 triples, higher than their usual mark of 9.6 and did so on a serviceable 35 per cent shooting.

Another bright spot for the club was the variety of contributions they got on the night. Six Edmonton players scored 11 or more points, two of those performances coming off the bench. Speaking of their bench, the second unit was a +10 on the night and put up yet another strong outing. The next-five for Edmonton are now averaging 32.8 points per game this season and have been a steadying force for the club all season.

Their leaders also played well as Hornsby notched a double-double for the second consecutive game with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Clarke scored a team-high 15 points on 50 per cent shooting.

This game will also impact the standings as both the Eastern and Western conferences have tight races going on. If Brampton comes out on top, they’ll hold sole possession of first in the East, breaking a tie with Scarborough. For Edmonton, the outcome of this game can swing their position as a win could bring them within a game of the first-place Sea Bears or a loss could drop them into a tie with the Bandits.