Ottawa BlackJacks look to keep win streak alive in matchup with Scarborough Shooting Stars

The league-leading Ottawa BlackJacks (-120) finish up a four-game road trip as they visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars (-113) in an Eastern Conference showdown on Friday at 7:30 pm ET from the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

It will be available for streaming live on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

This will be the third and final matchup between Ottawa (11-5) and Scarborough (7-6) in the regular season, as the two teams have split the series one a piece so far. In their first matchup back in May, it was the BlackJacks who came out on top with a 93-82 win that saw the squad shoot a scorching 60 per cent from distance for a total of 17 triples.

Michael Flowers led the way with six triples drained in a 22-point night, while five other players dropped at least one three-ball as well.

In their second matchup in late June, the league’s best three-point shooting team (39.4 per cent) had one of their worst performances from beyond the arch all season. Ottawa shot 21 per cent from three, making only six on the night and subsequently taking an 85-83 loss.

However, most fans probably don’t remember the lack of triples in that game, instead remembering the highlight-reel finish. Despite the BlackJacks leading for a majority of the game, the Shooting Stars clawed back in the second half before Thomas Kennedy ended the contest by throwing down one of the best dunks of the season, over Kadre Gray. 

The Defensive Player of the Year candidate played a pivotal role down the stretch by guarding MVP-hopeful Deng Adel as Scarborough overcame an eight-point deficit throughout Target Time. Kennedy helped force four turnovers by Adel in the Target Score period, none more important than the final steal that led to his breakaway jam. The forward also ended the night with a double-double by way of his 18 points and 10 rebounds.

However, that loss seemingly helped spark Ottawa’s best run all year. Since then, they’ve lost just one game and then gone on a franchise record seven-game win streak. The team has transformed into a powerhouse on both ends of the ball as they’re now a top-three scoring team (88.8 PPG) and are fifth in terms of points allowed (85.3 OPPG).

During that span the BlackJacks have remained the CEBL’s most efficient offense as they lead the league in both field goal (47.2) and three-point percentage (39.4).

In their most recent win, Ottawa knocked down another Eastern Conference rival by way of an 88-82 score over the Brampton Honey Badgers. What was most impressive about the victory wasn’t their lethal offence that shot 48 per cent from the field and 44 per cent from downtown. It was their defence, that grabbed 10 steals as part of 19 turnovers they forced, as the squad finished +9 on points off giveaways.

Adel had three of those steals himself to go with his game-high 21 points. The big man has been on a tear as of late, scoring over 20 points in three of his last five games as he’s pushed himself right into the discussion for the CEBL’s Most Valuable Player. Fans should keep an eye on Adel in this one as he looks to get some payback against the Shooting Stars after how the last game ended. If the big man can put up another show stopping performance and exact some revenge against Kennedy, it could go a long way for his MVP case.

On the other side, Scarborough has played five games since their last matchup with Ottawa and have looked relatively impressive going 3-2, helping them keep a playoff seat as they comfortably hold third place in the East. However, they did themselves no favours in terms of trying to get any higher as they took a 98-89 loss to the second-place Niagara River Lions last Sunday, to end a four-game road trip. 

The most notable thing from that contest was Scarborough’s star Cat Barber being held to just one point as he went 0-10 from the field. The guard averages 21.9 points per game, so to see him struggle that much, came as a surprise to most Shooting Stars fans. It didn’t help that his counterpart on the night Khalil Ahmad dropped a season-high 31 points.

Even with the tough outing, there are things to be optimistic about for Scarborough heading into this matchup. They entered their previous contest as the league’s weakest team from distance (29 per cent) but looked impressive from beyond the arch, knocking down 11 triples on a 37 per cent clip. 

They also found multiple contributors despite Barber’s struggles on the night. The Shooting Stars had five different players hit double-digit scoring as David Muenkat led the way with a season-high 21 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

Scarborough fans should also have faith in a bounce back game from Barber, as the likelihood of him having another outing like that is quite low. The one-point performance was just his first time all season scoring under double figures and only his third scoring output of less than 20 points. Through two games against Ottawa the guard is averaging 21.5 points on 43.2 per cent shooting.

In terms of seeding implications, a victory for the BlackJacks would help extend their lead atop the East, but more importantly, it would clinch a berth into this year’s CEBL Playoffs, making them the first team to do so. Meanwhile the Shooting Stars, if they want to move up any higher in the standings, could start by getting back in the win column and cutting the River Lions edge by half a game.

All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Full list of betting props available on BetVictor. Preview written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh).