Shooting Stars Blast Past Stingers 97-74

The Stingers Fall To 9-8 After Loss Against Scarborough

The Scarborough Shooting Stars rode a strong first quarter to defeat the Edmonton Stingers 97-74. The Shooting Stars move to 9-7 while the Stingers fall to 9-8. 

The Stingers got out to an early 5-2 lead after a layup by Demarco Dickerson. Scarborough’s Rashad James responded with a three as they went on a run. 

Shooting Stars guard Calvin Epistola initiated the offence by hitting a couple of threes and finding Kalif Young for a midrange jumper. The teams traded baskets as Dickerson continued to score inside. 

Scarborough led 25-16 after 10 minutes after Young hit a three at the first quarter buzzer. 

Both teams pushed the pace to start the second quarter. Edmonton scored the first seven of nine points in the quarter to cut into the lead. 

The home team responded with their own run, punctuated by a David Muenkat dunk. James also scored off a layup and jumper to give them a 38-29 lead. Epistola found Young rolling to the rim before scoring off a drive himself as Scarborough led 47-36 by halftime. He had a game-high 11 pojnts at the half.

Brody Clarke scored inside to open the third quarter for Edmonton. Scarborough responded by attacking the paint as Kameron Chatman scored a finger roll. 

The Shooting Stars’ defence also forced turnovers. Muenkat made a steal and dunked it on the other end to put his team up 63-44. Edmonton focused on scoring in the paint as they trailed 77-52 after three quarters. 

The Stingers started the fourth quarter with four quick points by Jordan Baker and Brody Clarke. However, Scarborough responded as Mike and Šarūnas Vasiliauskas hit from beyond the arc. Mike added a three while Young threw down a dunk in Elam time. 

Scarborough was led by Mike (30 points, six rebounds) and Chatman (15 points, three rebounds). Epistola and Young also added 12 points apiece. The team shot 47 per cent from three and 51 per cent from the field while scoring 19 points off 17 turnovers. 

“We got humbled the last few times we played so we just came with a different fire today,” Mike noted. “We were more locked in I feel like and just executing the game plan.” 

The Shooting Stars snapped a two-game losing streak. “Coach said it before the game. It had nothing to do with x’s and o’s,” Epistola noted of the change from previous games. “Just going out there, playing with pride and playing with heart. All guys played with heart today.” 

The Stingers had a balanced scoring attack with five players in double figures. Baker (14 points, five assists, five rebounds) led the way while Clarke and Dickerson each contributed 12 points as well. 

“For us, it starts with a little bit better cohesion, being able to get more a little bit more ball pressure, trusting the help side behind you, trying to get our rotations down,” Baker noted.  He credited Scarborough’s shooting. 

“From the start of the game, we were just a little bit out of it,” Stingers head coach Jermaine Small noted. We’ve [been] kind of building an identity of we can come back on anybody and win the game in the end. I just felt like today, our body language when they went on a run, we kind of gave up a little bit.” 

The Stingers return home to host the Guelph Nighthawks on July 23. The Shooting Stars travel to face the Nigara River Lions on July 22. 

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.

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