RIVER LIONS 86 RATTLERS 74, SASK DROPS TO 0-9

By Justine Jones

Jaylen Babb Harrison led the way with 25 points for the Niagara River Lions (5-3) in their 86-74 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-9) on Tuesday night at the Meridian Centre.

The River Lions guard finished at the rim and also contributed from deep, shooting 60 per cent from beyond the arc. With the victory, Niagara has now won four of its last five games, and continues to assert itself as a championship contender. The River Lions currently rank fourth in the CEBL, just one game behind their QEW rivals, the Hamilton Honey Badgers (6-3).

Saskatchewan showed off efficient perimeter ball movement which helped generate open looks for the team’s shooters. In the third quarter, a deep-three pointer by a falling Nervens Demosthene tied the game at 43. However, a 21-8 Niagara scoring run to close the frame put the Rattlers in a difficult position to begin the final quarter.

Kemy Osse was welcomed back into the Rattlers lineup for the first time since opening night, and the six-foot-one guard contributed 10 points in his return. Osse’s offence helped Saskatchewan’s benched outscore Niagara 30-8, and the team will certainly need more of this secondary scoring as they continue in the second half of this CEBL season.

“We have to be consistent for 40 minutes without those lapses in scoring. It’s the same thing against Edmonton we played 28 great minutes against them but then we fell apart down the stretch,” said head coach Conor Dow. “It’s not a happy locker room in there right now but all we can do is get out, get better and compete. We have another opportunity Thursday that we need to take advantage of.”

Saskatchewan will continue its road trip by travelling to the Sleeman Centre to take on the Guelph Nighthawks (2-6) on July 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Next up for the Niagara River Lions is the Ottawa BlackJacks (3-5), who they will host on July 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Meridian Centre.

All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service, CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.

(CEBL Communications)