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CEBL Newfoundland Growlers

Guelph 89-82 Win over Newfoundland Moves Win Streak to Three

June 15, 2022 - Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
Newfoundland Growlers News Release


The Guelph Nighthawks defeated the Newfoundland Growlers 89-82 on Tuesday night to push their win streak to three games. Guelph is now 4-3 on the season with the Growlers 0-6.

The Nighthawks started the first quarter with energy and pace and they took it to the Growlers defence. Cat Barber and Ahmed Hill found their spots facilitating and they found the hoop whether it was through a layup or kicking out for a A.J. Lawson three. Guelph jumped out to a 8-0 lead before Newfoundland found their offence with Kahlil Whitney and Shaquille Keith.

Newfoundland clawed their way back bringing it to a four-point game, but Lall and the Nighthawks newest addition Devin Watson made sure the Nighthawks stayed at a good length. Guelph ended the first quarter shooting 54 per cent from the field and out-rebounding Newfoundland 15-7, and the Nighthawks lead was 33-20.

The second quarter was much of the same. The Nighthawks guards found their way into the paint and Barber was efficient in his passing and shooting. Terry Thomas scored five consecutive points for the Growlers at the start of the quarter but Sean Miller-Moore, Hill and Barber made sure the Nighthawks lead stayed in double-digits.

Brandon Sampson was a consistent spark for the Growlers, with 10 points in the first half to lead the team. Barber's 58 per cent shooting gave him 16 first half points with Lawson adding 10 points on a trio of threes. Newfoundland finished the half shooting 50 per cent, Guelph 57 per cent. Guelph held a 57-42 lead at the half.

Guelph never gave up a lead in the first half, and though a sequence of Terry Thomas, Sampson and Keith baskets at the start of the third pulled the Growlers within eight, Guelph and the play of Barber and Tj Lall made sure it didn't get too close. Keith got to the foul line numerous times in the third quarter, shooting six free throws in the quarter, and both offences slowed down compared to the first half.

Transition baskets came by way of steals and less of defensive rebounds in the third quarter, Lall the benefactor of a dish for a dunk in transition and the Growlers getting several transition layups. At the end of the third, Newfoundland scored 24 fast break points with the Growlers scoring 13, the Growlers recording 11 steals to the Nighthawks six. Guelph held a 74-60 lead after three quarters.

Newfoundland cut the deficit back to single digits through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. The Growlers interior defence tightened up not allowing the Nighthawks to find easy baskets around the rim, and their transition offence kept the same efficiency they had found throughout the second half. With 5:30 remaining in the game Guelph led 78-73. Keith and Sampson found their way inside and the Nighthawks lead that was at 14 going into the fourth, was at five, 80-75 going into Elam time. The target score set at 89.

Keith started Elam time with a fade-away jumper from the corner to shrink the Growlers deficit to three points, and Lall responded at the rim after a dish inside from Barber. The Nighthawks and Growlers exchanged paint baskets with Thomas and Barber scoring consecutively, and Keith got to the free throw line to pull the Growlers within eight points while the Nighthawks needed just five to win.

Barber got the ball in his hands and got the Nighthawks the win. A three-point play floater and a mid-range jumper off of an inbound gave him five more points and the Nighthawks a 89-82 victory.

Barber finished with a team high 30 points, four rebounds and three assists. Lawson had 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Lall finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Hill was the fourth player to finish in double-digit scoring, recording 11 points, five rebounds and an assist.

Sampson finished with 20 points to lead the Growlers, alongside an assist, three steals and a block. Thomas finished with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Keith recorded 18 points, three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.

Growlers head coach Patrick Ewing Jr talked about the impact of Shaquille Keith, "Shaq had a good offensive game, he was working a little defensively but he's got to be better. He's got to be able to control his emotions a little bit when he gets upset, he checks out for a minute, we can't have that. He's too important of a player and too good of a player to be doing that. In order for us to be good he's got to be playing great so hopefully we figure this thing out and keep having good games from our good guys and we can start turning these into some wins."

Nighthawks have had to fend off runs from both the Alliance in the game prior and now the Growlers, talking about his team going through that Guelph Head Coach Charles Kissi said, "Bend but don't break, I think that's important. I think it's good for our guys to learn this and experience is one of the best teachers so as we go through this it builds us for later, we've been here before, we know when teams go on runs how we're going to respond, how I'm going to help our team respond is important too. I thought they did a really good job and our staff did a really good job."

Nighthawks Head Coach Charles Kissi talked about their newest addition Devin Watson and his impact on the win, "He hit two threes in the first minutes so that's certainly a good start. We threw him into the fire a bit and I think he responded."

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL's OTT platform, CEBL+ and on CEBL Mobile the official app of the CEBL for iOS and Android devices. Games are also available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.



Canadian Elite Basketball League Stories from June 15, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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