Game Preview May 27 vs Niagara

The 0-1 Niagara River Lions are in Edmonton Alberta to take on the Edmonton Stingers in the Stingers home opener.  After a loss to the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Wednesday night, the River Lions are set for a rematch of the 2021 CEBL Championship against the back to back champion Edmonton Stingers who are playing their first game of the season.

In the 2021 championship, the Stingers came away with a 101-65 victory.  Xavier Moon, who is one of the five CEBL players that have graduated to the NBA, led the game in scoring with 28 points while his teammate Jordan Baker added 19 points with six rebounds and 10 assists.  For the River Lions, their veteran guard Philip Scrubb contributed 17 points and six assists while Daniel Mullings scored eight and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Edmonton returned a majority of their roster going into the 2022 season.  Most significantly, Jordan Baker, a two time finalist for the CEBL Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2020 CEBL Canadian of the Year, also a two time CEBL champion entering his fourth season with Edmonton.  Baker has averaged 14 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists while playing for Edmonton, following his time in the Portuguese LPB League, a year in Germany and a university career at the University of Alberta. 

Marlon Johnson Jr also returns to the Stingers for the 2022 season.  Averaging six rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent, he provides consistency and size to the Stingers in the paint.  Returning to the Stingers to add more presence at the forward position, Canadian forward Brody Clarke who most recently played professionally with the Trier Gladiators of the German ProA League.  Brody, another product of the University of Alberta, has played 12 regular season games with the Stingers and took home the 2020 CEBL Championship with Edmonton.

Mathieu Kamba is a big returning piece for the Stingers who will now be without Xavier Moon.  Kamba provides shooting to the Stingers, with a 38.2 three-point percentage last season while scoring 12 points per game and playing 30 minutes per game.  The trio alongside veteran Adika Peter-McNeilly and a host of other Canadian and International talent will hit the court to try and once again hold off the River Lions.

Niagara enters their second game following a 92-89 loss to the Saskatchewan Rattlers.  In that game the River Lions found a lot of success attacking the paint which led to 40 points in the paint.  Their guard Khalil Ahmad who most recently played professionally with Horsens IC in Denmark, had a spectacular game with 34 points on efficient shooting (55%), eight rebounds and four assists.  As the game went on the River Lions found more success shooting from the perimeter where Ej Onu made his mark making five of six from that territory, part of his 14-point night.  All time, the Niagara River Lions are 1-6 against the Edmonton Stingers with their win coming during the 2019 season.

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices.  Games will also be 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.