Stingers Rout Growlers in Historic 120-69 Blowout

Stingers Defeat Growlers 120-69 Setting a Record in the CEBL League

The Edmonton Stingers had a record-setting blowout win in their return to the Edmonton Expo Centre on Thursday night. The Stingers set the Canadian Elite Basketball League record for largest margin of victory in their 120-69 thrashing of the Newfoundland Growlers. 

In addition to the record 51 point margin of victory, the Stingers set a franchise record with 120 points and picked up their second consecutive 100 point game. The Stingers are still 10 points shy of Saskatchewan’s CEBL record of 130 points in 2019 but they set the record for points in a CEBL Elam ending game, previously held by Fraser Valley at 113. 

Edmonton’s Brody Clarke scored a game-high 27 points on 8-10 shooting from the field in his second consecutive performance with 25 points or more. 

“It’s so good to have [Brody Clarke] here for the full year,” Edmonton head coach Jermaine Small said. “He’s a mismatch. He can score outside, he can score inside, he’s a great foul shooter, he draws fouls—Brody’s been a really good offensive player. His defence is getting better but he’s been consistent—that’s the most important thing. We rely on him to score and he’s been doing a great job.” 

The Stingers had 7 players reach double figures with Adika Peter-McNeilly just shy with 8 points. David Pekarek had 17 points off the bench on 6-7 shooting from the floor and 4-5 from three, with 6 of his points coming in Elam time. Demarco Dickerson was impressive in his home debut with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jordan Baker flirted with a triple double in his return to the lineup with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals while Marlon Johnson Jr. had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in a starting role. Aher Uguak and Jahmal Jones each had big games off the bench as well, with Uguak scoring 14 points and collecting 3 steals while Jones had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. 

Entering the game as the league’s leading scorer, Brandon Sampson led the Growlers once again with 20 points on 6-11 shooting in a performance that included some powerful slam dunks. However, Sampson was one of five Growlers to turn the ball over three times or more, leading the team with 6 turnovers. Nova Scotia native Terry Thomas was the only other Newfoundland player to reach double figures in the loss with 16 points on 5-17 shooting. 

“We have to get guys who are going to go out and fight,” Newfoundland head coach Patrick Ewing Jr. said. “We lost that game before we were getting fouled as much as we were. We lost that game when guys weren’t finding open teammates. We lost that game when guys weren’t playing basketball the way it’s supposed to be played. You look at the stats sheet and you see Baker and Jones with 11 assists each—our team had 11 assists total, so it’s not fun to play with guys who aren’t trying to make plays.” 

The Stingers dominated the Growlers on the court and on the stats sheet. Edmonton shot 62 per cent from the field and 54 per cent from three and assisted on 35 of their 46 field goals. Of Newfoundland’s 26 turnovers, 15 were Edmonton steals. The Stingers capitalized on the turnovers with 30 points off turnovers to Newfoundland’s 16. Edmonton had the advantage in bench points, points in the paint, rebounds and assists. 

“We’re looking for the best shot possible but at times I think we over-pass. But we lead the league in assists for a reason,” Small said. “I think that speaks to the unselfishness more than enough. When you have five guys that can pass and look for each other, it’s speaks to our cohesion and chemistry as well—it’s a reflection of that.”

The first quarter was close, high-scoring and featured several highlight-reel plays. Edmonton’s Demarco Dickerson finished a layup reminiscent of “Pistol” Pete Maravich early in the quarter and Newfoundland’s Jermel Kennedy crowned Jordan Baker with a left-handed slam later. A triple from Brody Clarke closed out the quarter, giving Edmonton a 25-19 lead. 

The Stingers were on fire to start the second quarter and opened with a 23-6 run in the first five minutes. Halfway through the quarter, Edmonton doubled up Newfoundland 50-25. The Stingers stayed hot to end the quarter and featured a balanced scoring effort on their way to a 61-31 lead heading into the locker room. Edmonton shot 61 per cent from the field and 57 per cent from three with an absurd 18 assists. Newfoundland shot 36 per cent from the field and just 29 per cent from three and turned the basketball over 14 times. Clarke and Marlon Johnson led the Stingers with 12 points and 10 points respectively at halftime while Brandon Sampson led the Growlers with 10 points. Jordan Baker also contributed for the Stingers with 4 points,  5 rebounds and 7 assists. 

Edmonton kept their foot on the gas in the third, scoring in transition and playing unselfish basketball. The Stingers carried a 90-51 lead into the fourth and final quarter. Brody Clarke continued to ball out in the fourth, showing off his elite footwork on the low block. A putback jam from Demarco Dickerson put the Stingers ahead 110-59 heading into the Elam ending with a target score of 119. Dickerson had his elite handle on display in Elam time, putting Meschack Lufile on ice before scooping in the layup and spinning around a defender for another layup. Patrick Ewing Jr. picked up his second technical foul and was ejected from the game during the final minutes before David Pekarek scored the final 6 points to give the Stingers the victory.

The Growlers will return to St. John’s in search of their first win in a matchup with the Saskatchewan Growlers at 7:30 p.m. NT. The Stingers will hit the road to play the Niagara River Lions on Wednesday ay 7 p.m. ET. 

The game will stream on CEBL+ live internationally and in Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS

and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Games are also available on the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile, available on iOS and Android devices.

Edmonton Stingers season tickets are available at https://www.thestingers.ca/season-tickets17e760ad  while Newfoundland Growlers season tickets are available at https://am.ticketmaster.com/growlers/

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.