Shooting Stars Earn Gritty 95-87 win over River Lions in Home Opener
It was banner night for the defending champions and the Scarborough Shooting Stars celebrated by putting up arguably their best defensive performance of the season to pull out a 95-87 win over the Niagara River Lions on Saturday.
Scarborough gave up the fewest points they have to any opponent this season and forced Niagara into a season-high 16 turnovers as they grinded out their second consecutive win.
“They shot 50 per cent from three in the first half and 25 per cent in the second,” Shooting Stars head coach Devan Blair said postgame on what propelled them to victory. “Overall, we did a pretty good job of making the guys we wanted to see shoot, shoot, but we also did a really good job flying around and contesting late when we had to.”
The Shooting Stars were led by the duo of Kadre Gray and Jackson Rowe who each put up double-doubles. Gray led the way with a team-high 18 points and 10 assists while Rowe scored 13 points to go with his 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Jaden Campbell finished with 11 points off the bench, making it back-to-back double-digit outings for the import guard.
On the other side, the River Lions were led by a sixth man of their own as Jahvon Blair scored a game-high 22 points off the pine to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Omari Moore chipped in with 16 points, while former Shooting Star Elijah Lufile had his best game of the season, putting up a season-high 15 points and eight rebounds against his old squad.
“I was just trying to play my role,” Lufile said after the game on his return Scarborough. “I’m a high energy guy, get rebounds, putbacks and defend. That’s just my game, even if I score 20 points or zero points … it does feel good to be back though.”
It’s fitting that Saturday’s contest was a tightly contested affair considering it was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final that was decided by three points.
Neither team could claim an early advantage as Niagara and Scarborough went shot-for-shot through practically the entire quarter. The River Lions finished the frame with five threes on 55 per cent shooting while the Shooting Stars made six on a 54 per cent clip.
That one extra triple ended up making all the difference for the defending champs as they went into the second quarter with a narrow 29-27 lead. It was a return to form for the Shooting Stars – who lead the league in three-point makes (13.7) and percentage (39.4) -- after uncharacteristically converting at a lesser 35 per cent clip from beyond the arc against the Calgary Surge.
The Shooting Stars went on to hit 14 triples on a 41 per cent conversion rate.
And speaking of uncharacteristic, that’s a fitting way to describe Niagara’s second quarter as they gave the ball away well above their usual pace. The River Lions entered the night averaging just 13 turnovers a game but ended up with eight in the frame and 11 by halftime. Their unsure hands proved costly as they gave up 11 unanswered points off turnovers and trailed 55-47 going into the break.
“We challenged the guys after the road trip,” Blair said postgame on his team’s increased defensive effort against Niagara. “Dig in, get back to who we need to be … being active with our hands. We want to play so fast, so we have to be able to create turnovers.”
Scarborough’s three-point onslaught showed no signs of slowing down once action resumed as three of their first four makes in the third quarter came from distance. At the 7:14 mark of the frame, Gray hit one of his three total threes and gave the Shooting Stars the first double-digit lead of the contest.
Credit to Niagara as they didn’t wave the white flag after trailing by as many as 12 points in the frame. The River Lions finished the quarter on a 15-6 run that cut the Shooting Stars lead to just two points going into the fourth quarter.
Scarborough showed some championship poise however as they responded with a 10-2 run of their own, capped off by Adaway throwing down an alley-oop slam, that put them back up by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter and forced Niagara into a timeout.
Head coach Victor Raso’s message was apparently heard loud and clear as the River Lions cut the Shooting Stars’ lead down to eight points going into Target Score Time and in quick succession had it down to just three points following an Aaryn Rai layup.
“Just keep playing our game,” said Moore when asked what Raso’s message was that sparked their late push. “We never felt like we were out of the game … keep chopping away, there’s no 10-point play.”
That was as close as Niagara could chop things up, however, as Scarborough held on the rest of the way thanks to back-to-back dunks from Hason Ward, scoring four of his six points in Target Time, before Tevian Jones drilled a step back three to end the contest.
Up Next
The Shooting Stars get plenty of time to bask in Saturday’s outcome as they won’t return to action until June 9 when they visit the Brampton Honey Badgers for a GTA rivalry game.
Meanwhile, the River Lions head back home to host the Winnipeg Sea Bears for a cross-conference affair on Thursday.
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