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 Guelph Nighthawks

Guelph Nighthawks Take on the Niagara River Lions in Niagara Tonight

July 9, 2022 - Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
Guelph Nighthawks News Release


The Guelph Nighthawks are looking to end their four-game losing streak when they visit the Niagara River Lions on July 9 at 7 pm ET.

The Nighthawks (6-7) are one win behind the Edmonton Stingers and Saskatchewan Rattlers as they look to solidify their playoff position. The River Lions (9-4) have won two games in a row and five of the past six. They are looking to keep pace with the Hamilton Honey Badgers and Fraser Valley Bandits in the battle for first place.

This is the second and final meeting between the two teams in the regular season. Niagara won the first game 96-84 in Guelph on May 31. The River Lions had a strong second and third quarter - scoring 49 points to the Nighthawks' 35 - to power them to victory.

Niagara won the rebounding and three-point battle that game. Those areas could be key to victory this time as well. Look for River Lions guard Khalil Ahmad to play a key role in the offence. He scored 33 points against Guelph earlier and averages a league-high 21.5 points.

The River Lions will be missing forward EJ Onu, who is currently playing in the NBA Summer League. Forwards Antonio Davis Jr. and Tidjan Keita will lead the frontline. Keita scored 10 points off five-for-seven shooting in their previous game against the Edmonton Stingers while also getting 10 rebounds and three steals.

Guard Jaylen Babb-Harrison has played well this season, establishing himself as a scoring and three-point threat. Against Edmonton, he hit five-for-eight beyond the arc as part of his team-high 24 points. Guard Elijah Mitrou-Long has also made significant contributions in his three games so far, averaging 13.7 points and 2.7 assists off the bench. He scored 23 points versus the Stingers.

The Nighthawks have come close to winning recently with close games against Fraser Valley, Edmonton and Scarborough Shooting Stars. Against the Shooting Stars, they shot the three ball (37 per cent) above their season average and had six blocks.

Cat Barber and Ahmed Hill led the team with 25 points each. A lot of Guelph's scoring is generated through their guards and they will likely rely on Barber and Hill against the River Lions.

They are playing without third-leading scorer AJ Lawson, who is currently in the NBA Summer League. Guelph signed former Toronto Metropolitan University guard Myles Charvis, who had five points, three assists and three rebounds off the bench in his season debut against Scarborough.

Him and his teammates Sean Miller-Moore, Clayton Henry, AJ Hess, Lucas Nogueira and others will be counted on to produce, especially in Lawson's absence. They were outscored 29-19 in bench points in their first game against Niagara.

One thing both teams excel at is protecting the rim. Niagara is first in average blocks (4.8) while Guelph is second (4.2). While Onu is the CEBL's leading shot blocker (3.5 on average), Davis Jr. and Keita will be among those responsible for protecting the rim in his absence. Nogueira and TJ Lall lead Guelph with 1.5 blocks on average.

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.

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