Shooting Stars look to extend win streak as they host BlackJacks

The Scarborough Shooting Stars (3-2) welcome the Ottawa BlackJacks (1-4) to the Pan Am Sports Centre on Thursday night for the first of three regular season matchups between the Eastern Conference rivals.

Live coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET and fans can catch all the action on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+ and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices.

The mid-week affair will be the first time Scarborough and Ottawa are facing off since a playoff bout in the Eastern Conference Semifinal last season. The No. 2 and 3 seeds in 2023 enter Thursday on opposite ends of the conference standings so far in 2024.

Scarborough has been on an upward trend, winners of three in a row after an 0-2 start to the season. The defending champs have hit a stride and it’s led them into a tie for first place in the East.

Their most recent victory came against another Ontario rival as they handled business against the Brampton Honey Badgers, walking into the CAA Centre and coming out with an eight-point victory.

It wasn’t the prettiest offensive effort, as Scarborough put up a season-low 81 points, but they proved yet again that their playstyle can overcome even the slowest of starts.

Despite opening the game 0-12 from the field, the Shooting Stars swung momentum back in their favour largely thanks to their production from beyond the arc. Scarborough ended up hitting 13 threes in the contest (+8) on a 37 per cent clip, proving why they lead the league in three-point makes (11.3) and are second in percentage (39.3).

Outside of their proficiency from distance, a core component of Scarborough’s win streak has been the impressive play of its second unit. The Shooting Stars’ bench is averaging 36.6 points per game this season and has outscored opponents by 78 points this year.

Devoe Joseph put up a season-high 17 points off the pine in Scarborough’s victory over Brampton, leading a 40-point outing for the second unit.

On the other side, the BlackJacks are fourth in the East and are hoping to avoid their second losing streak before the mid-way point of the season. After starting 0-3, Ottawa picked up a one-point win over the Montréal Alliance in the first of a home-and-home set, before losing 104-89 on Tuesday.

The 15-point defeat was the BlackJacks’ third double-digit loss of the season as Ottawa has given up the second-most points per game (94.8) of any team in the CEBL. Much of their defensive woes have been on account of a lack of interior strength.

Without a traditional paint presence like that of Deng Adel or Zena Edosomwan (both players eventually rejoining the BlackJacks at some point this season), Ottawa has been noticeably undersized at the rim -- evidence by their bottom of the league rebounding rate (31.8 rebounds per game). The BlackJacks gave up 46 rebounds (-14) to Montréal on Tuesday, 12 of which came on the offensive end, as the Alliance put up an extra 11 shots as a result.

It wasn’t all bad for the BlackJacks however, as they got a couple of standout performances they’ll hope can repeat and manifest into a win.

For instance, Tyrrel Tate exploded for a CEBL career-high 33 points off the bench. The fifth-year guard did a bit of everything as he shot 52 per cent from the field, drilled four triples and knocked down 11-of-13 attempts from the charity stripe. It was just the second time all season Ottawa’s second unit has scored over 25 points as Tate accounted for 75 per cent of that production.

Meanwhile, Isaih Moore continued what’s been an impressive debut season in the CEBL. The forward put up his third double-double (16 points, 12 assists) through four games as he leads the BlackJacks in both points and rebounds.

Despite Ottawa’s record, Moore has had arguably one of the best individual campaign’s this year. He’s fourth in average scoring (19.8), second in rebounds (10.5), third in field goal percentage (56.6) and seventh in three-point percentage (46.2).

2023 season series

Last year the Eastern Conference opponents split the season series at two wins apiece. The BlackJacks won two of the three regular season contests before the Shooting Stars ultimately bounced them in the postseason with a 77-72 win.

Safe to say things will be different this time as Kadre Gray and Jackson Rowe won’t be representing the nation’s capital like they did in 2023. It’ll be the first time both are playing against the BlackJacks, their former squad, since joining the Shooting Stars in the offseason. And although it won’t be a reunion with the Ottawa faithful, there’s sure to be some bragging rights up for grabs.

- CEBL –

About the CEBL

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 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.