Undermanned Honey Badgers Snap Skid in Win, Aid Playoff Hopes

July 26, 2025
Zulfi Sheikh

The Scarborough Shooting Stars' path to a playoff berth entering Friday was clear: win and you’re in.


None of which mattered to the Brampton Honey Badgers, however, as they picked up a 96-89 win over their GTA rivals to spoil those plans.


Brampton’s victory not only snapped a seven-game skid, now 5-15 on the season, but it also aided its chances of making a run to the playoffs.


While the Honey Badgers were busy stopping the Shooting Stars from clinching a post-season spot, they were helped in their playoff quest by the Niagara River Lions, who rallied past the Montreal Alliance earlier in the night to keep Brampton’s hopes mathematically alive.


Koby McEwen led the Honey Badgers in their pivotal win, scoring 29 points while going 9-for-9 from the free throw line to go with two assists and two steals. Not far behind was Quinndary Weatherspoon, who chipped in 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting with three rebounds, four assists and two steals.


Meanwhile, Prince Oduro had one of his best showings of the season with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Rounding out Brampton’s double-digit scoring efforts was Yaw Obeng-Mensah off the bench with his 12 points and nine rebounds.


“We played really hard today,” Oduro explained after the win. “We brought good intensity, and it was also good to see the ball movement … a really good team win today.”


All of which was made more impressive by the fact that the Honey Badgers were missing David Muenkat and Marcus Carr, the team’s Nos. 2 and 3 scorers heading into the contest.


On the other side, the Shooting Stars' second consecutive loss dropped them to 9-9 on the season and out of a tie for second in the East with the Ottawa BlackJacks.


Terquavion Smith did most of Scarborough’s damage on the night as he racked up 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with nine rebounds, a steal and two blocks. The import also made 5-of-9 triples, two shy of tying the franchise record. Behind him was Cat Barber with 18 points and six assists, while Anthony Walker added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.


“An unacceptable loss,” Shooting Stars head coach Mike De Giorgio said post-game. “(Our) energy and effort waxed and waned throughout the game … let them come back, let them stay close. Kudos to them, they made shots, but an unacceptable loss on our part.”


It’s no secret that one of Scarborough’s main advantages in the season series against Brampton — previously leading 2-0 before Friday’s tilt, the final regular-season matchup between the two sides — was its production from distance. The Shooting Stars had shot 36 per cent from beyond the arc and averaged 11.5 triples in their previous two meetings with the Honey Badgers.


And sure enough, those trends continued on Friday as Scarborough opened the game by making six of its first seven three-point attempts en route to an 8-of-12 effort from beyond the arc through 10 minutes.


Leading that charge — as the Shooting Stars carved out a 34-20 lead following the first quarter — was Barber, who started a torrid 4-of-4 from distance as he spearheaded a 20-3 run midway through the frame.


Unlike previous matchups, however, the Honey Badgers were able to reclaim momentum after losing it early. Remarkably, flipping what was a 14-point deficit after the first into a 52-51 lead at halftime after outscoring the Shooting Stars 32-17 in the second. The frame included an 11-2 run and a 6-0 finish as Brampton took charge headed into the break.


“We did a good job of weathering the storm in the first quarter,” Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy said post-game. “Scarborough came out and they were making a lot of shots, maybe in the past we might’ve crumbled, but we fought back.”


Part of that swing was Scarborough’s hot shooting from the first fizzling out as the team shot 2-of-10 from distance throughout the second.


“Once we were able to get stops — they were shooting lights out — but once we were able to get stops, it helped us get out in transition a little bit … and that’s what I think helped us,” Cassimy added.


Another catalyst for that comeback was Oduro, who scored eight points in the quarter as part of 12 points at halftime on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting. All of his points came inside the paint, indicative of the Honey Badgers' collective success scoring up close, as they were a plus-10 (26-16) inside the key through 20 minutes. They’d finish plus-16 in the paint (44-28).


“Just trusting (my teammates’) passes,” Oduro said when asked about his strong performance. “The season hasn’t gone how we wanted … but I still think I’m one of the best bigs in this league, so I’m still going to come out and play the same way and let the work show.”


Brampton carried its narrow one-point advantage into the fourth (72-71) after a stalemate of a third quarter.


And in the decisive 10 minutes, the Honey Badgers eked out the pivotal victory largely by dominating the possession battle. Once the dust settled on a back-and-forth final frame, the Shooting Stars had taken 15 fewer field goal attempts. An outcome made possible largely due to Brampton’s success on the glass (plus-11). All the while, the Honey Badgers capitalized on the Shooting Stars' 16 turnovers on the night to the tune of a 27-13 edge in points off those giveaways.


“We didn’t defend at a high enough level, we turned the ball over for easy scores on their part and their guys made a bunch of those shots,” De Giorgio said.


The Honey Badgers were also helped by the fact that their starting backcourt of McEwen and Weatherspoon combined to score 19 of the team’s final 21 points, including all 10 in Target Score Time. McEwen did his work first, nailing a floater and then a triple, to which Weatherspoon matched with a mid-range jumper and then a three to end the ball game.


Box Score


https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600644


Up next


Both squads return to action on Sunday, starting with the Honey Badgers staying put in Brampton to host the defending champion River Lions. Meanwhile, the Shooting Stars will visit the Alliance for their third of four straight road games.


Next CEBL action


Just one game is on the docket for Saturday as the Saskatchewan Rattlers head to Ottawa to take on the BlackJacks. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games.


- CEBL -

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