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CEBL Niagara River Lions

Both Squads Hope to Bounce Back as Surge Visit River Lions for Second of Back-To-Back

July 4, 2024 - Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
Niagara River Lions News Release


The Calgary Surge (6-6), on the second night of a back-to-back, continue a six-game road trip as they visit the Niagara River Lions (7-5) for their lone regular season matchup on Thursday night.

Live coverage from Meridian Centre begins at 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. MT 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.

Ahead of a cross-conference face-off, both teams can relish in the fact they've had their fair share of success thus far. Niagara sits atop the East as they pass the half-way mark of the season and Calgary have worked their way into a playoff spot out West after being out of the mix early on.

But despite all of that, both teams are coming off losses that risk stalling the momentum they've carried to this point.

For the River Lions, the matchup will be the first of a quick two-game homestand. And going back to Niagara could prove auspicious as the River Lions can seemingly build upon their undefeated home record and extend their lead atop the East. Niagara is 4-0 at the Meridian Centre in 2024, one of just two teams not to lose a home game thus far.

And with six of their next eight games in Niagara, there's a real opportunity for the River Lions to build upon their slim one-game lead for the conference's top spot.

But if that's to happen, they'll have to start by getting back in the win column against the Surge. The last time the River Lions were in action, they fell to the West-leading Vancouver Bandits - and it wasn't particularly close.

Niagara lost 105-83, as their offence was completely neutralized by Vancouver's league-best defence. The River Lions shot 38 per cent from the field and 21 per cent from beyond the arc as they put up one of their quietest offensive outputs of the season.

And things won't get much easier for Niagara against a Calgary squad that has ratcheted things up defensively as of late. The Surge have allowed more than 90 points just twice in the last 30 days, holding teams to an average of 83.9 points per game during that span.

In order to crack Calgary's seemingly impenetrable defence, Niagara will likely need a bounce back performance from Jahvon Blair. Against Vancouver, the team's leading scorer (16.6 points per game) had one of his quietest performances of the season. Blair finished with just seven points on 0-of-8 shooting from the field.

Even if the Brampton, Ont. native does return to form, he'll likely need support from his backcourt running mate Khalil Ahmad. Thankfully, the reigning CEBL Clutch Player of the Year and former league MVP has slowly picked up steam with each game since his return. Ahmad has put 18 points in back-to-back contests and is seemingly inching closer to his 19.6 points per game mark from last year.

Meanwhile, the Surge are also coming off a defeat they'd like to rebound from. The loss to the Brampton Honey Badgers last night was a heavy blow as it not only snapped a four-game win streak but it also dropped Calgary from third to fourth in the West.

And although they lost by just three points, the 108 points conceded were a season-high for the Surge. It was a rare poor performance defensively for Calgary, after seemingly turning things around on that end. After allowing more than 100-points in two of their first three games, this was just the second time Calgary let it happen in the past month.

Brampton shot over 50 per cent from both the field and beyond the arc, putting up the most post they've scored all year as a result.

Despite the defensive miscue from an otherwise disciplined squad on that end, the Surge continued their impressive play on the offensive end. Scoring 105 points in the loss to the Honey Badgers marked the third time in their last four games that Calgary surpassed the 100-point threshold. Over their last five games, the Surge have averaged 97.8 points per game.

Against Brampton, Calgary was led by Justin Lewis and Stef Smith who accounted for nearly 50 per cent of their points scored. Lewis dropped 27 on 10-of-14 shooting while Smith chipped in with 25 points off the bench.

2023 season series

The cross-conference opponents split their two games last season. Calgary took the earlier matchup by a narrow three-point margin, while Niagara came out on top in the rematch in a more convincing 13-point fashion.

Notably, Ahmad scored game-high 30 points in that contest as the River Lions cruised to victory.

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