River Lions Take First of Home-And-Home Series With 101-84 Win in Brampton

The Niagara River Lions (7-6) sunk 13 three pointers in the first half en route to downing the Brampton Honey Badgers (5-7) 101-84 at the CAA Centre on Wednesday night.

Khalil Ahmad led the way with a game-high 23 points and 4 assists. He also scored 4 of Niagara’s 14 long balls on the night. TJ Lall chipped in with three threes off the bench.

Ahmad credited his team’s commitment to defence after the game.

“[We] stay solid on defence, stay solid on offence, don’t do too much and just help each other out,” he said.

Three days after sinking 13 threes in a 90-75 win in Saskatoon against the Rattlers on Sunday, the River Lions used a strong dose of paint penetration to kick out and find open looks from deep.

As a team, Niagara had 18 assists on the night. Seven players recorded two or more assists on the night.

“We’re not trying to shoot that many threes that quickly, but if you have a night like that, or a half like that, and everyone is making their shots, I’m not complaining,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said.

Reigning CEBL Finals MVP Christian Vital did all he could for the Honey Badgers, scoring 23 points—matching his counterpart Ahmad—and snagging 5 boards.

Forward Ashley Hamilton also provided a pop off the bench for Brampton with 17 points, the second most on the team, and 8 rebounds.

“It’s my game. The more time I spend with the team, the more comfortable I’m getting,” Hamilton said. “Today I came off the bench, other games I’ve started, I’ve had similar numbers… Ideally, I want the team to win.”

Early on, Brampton took charge of the game by finding buckets inside. The Honey Badgers outscored the River Lions 16-0 in the paint and shot 11-12 from inside the arch. Vital racked up 6 of his 23 points in the first quarter.

But Niagara withstood the early run with their ability to drain the three.

The River Lions failed to record a bucket inside the arch in the first quarter, using six three pointers and an Ahmad free throw to trail by only three points at the end of the first. Brampton also shot 0-6 from deep in the frame.

Niagara recorded their first hoop inside the arch about a minute into the second quarter when Ahmad dropped in a reverse layup off a steal from centre court.

The River Lions then started to extend their lead with the long ball, shooting 13-27 from three in the first two quarters.

Their strong shooting came despite a steady presence from Hamilton, who recorded 10 points in the first half and was a perfect 4-4 from the field. 

But after a kick out three pointer by Lall in the final minute—following a dribble drive penetration—Niagara led 48-36 at the break.

Although Niagara sunk only one three ball in the second half, the River Lions still ended up shooting close to 40 per cent (38 per cent) from deep.

And in the third, Niagara used an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 18.

Vital, however, did his best to keep the Honey Badgers within striking distance—scoring 11 of his 23 points in the quarter.

Kimbal Mackenzie, making his season debut for the River Lions, responded with four points in the frame. The Oakville, Ontario native finished with those 4 points and 3 rebounds in 14 and a half minutes played.

“Kimbal was good, he was exactly what he thought,” Raso said. “He’s tough, he can beat people off the dribble, he can lead a team.”

The River Lions took a 92-75 lead entering target score time, and clinched the game despite a late Brampton run on a goaltending bucket by Ahmad.

With the win, Niagara has now recorded their second straight victory and move to within a half game of the Scarborough Shooting Stars for second place in the eastern conference.

Brampton, meanwhile, falls one half game behind Montreal for the fourth and final playoff spot in the east with eight games to go in the year.

These two teams will square off in Niagara to complete the home-and-home series on Friday night.

“Losing is tough,” Hamilton said.

“It can be disheartening, but it’s all about sticking with it and working hard. The season could easily change—there’s a lot of time left and you can’t put your head down.”

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for 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 percent 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.