Stingers Stunned by BlackJacks, Slide to 5-5

The BlackJacks built up to 20 plus point lead in the third quarter and withstood a Stingers comeback in the fourth quarter for the win. The BlackJacks move to 2-7 while the Stingers fall to 5-5. 

Jackson Rowe started the scoring down low for the BlackJacks before Jordan Baker responded for Edmonton. The two teams exchanged scores as they attacked the paint early and often in the first quarter. 

Ottawa centre Chad Posthumus scored at the rim to go up 11-9. Bernard Thompson added a layup to increase the lead to 15-9. The Stingers responded but BlackJacks guard Walt Lemon Jr. nailed a triple to put his side up 20-17 after the first quarter.

Posthumus showed his range with a mid-range jumper to open the second quarter. Ottawa capitalized on Edmonton’s missed shots to score in transition. Cody John hit a transition three to make it 27-16 for the home team. Edmonton also scored in transition with a David Pekarek three. 

Stingers guard Demarco Dickerson initiated the offence by scoring and finding open teammates. BlackJacks forward Maxime Boursiquot was aggressive in driving to the rim. He had eight points by halftime. His teammates were also attacking the rim as they went up 42-33 at halftime.

Ottawa came out in the third quarter shooting well as Rowe, Lemon Jr. and Boursiquot nailed threes to give the BlackJacks their biggest lead of the night yet. Rowe scored back-to-back threes as the lead stretched to 20. 

Jahmal Jones hit a three and Aher Uguak and Adika Peter-McNeilly scored on the fast break as the Stingers cut the deficit to 69-58 after the third quarter. 

The Stingers made their comeback heading into Elam time as Uguak hit a three to cut it to 76-72. Ottawa responded with a Thomas Scrubb three and a goaltending call against Edmonton. 

Four straight points from Edmonton to start Elam made it a one-score game. However, Ottawa answered with seven straight points, including two Posthumus free throws to win their first home game of the season. 

The BlackJacks shot better from three (43 to 29 per cent) and the field (46 to 36 per cent) while also having more assists and rebounds. All the Ottawa and Edmonton starters finished with double figure points, including Lemon Jr. with a game-high 23 points. 

“It feels good to get a win, period. Especially at home,” Lemon Jr. noted. “We’ve been in a real slump. The expectation got to guys. We felt the pressure but now that we got that monkey off our back, we can finally learn from our mistakes and get this thing going in the right direction.”

Lemon Jr. noted how the team buckled down and emphasized holding onto the lead when the Stingers were making their run. 

Posthumus posted a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds). Dickerson and Marlon Johnson led the Stingers with 14 points apiece while Peter-McNeilly added 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks off the bench. 

“There’s a lot for us to take away from it but not a whole lot of positives,” Edmonton forward Jordan Baker noted. “Our start needs to be better, our execution needs to be better, our rebounding needs to be better, our physicality needs to be better.”

Baker said the team is in a growing phase. “One of the biggest things is just trying to find a couple of things that work for us, hammer home on those things and as always, we’re going to focus on defending, rebounding and getting on the run in transition.”

Ottawa snaps a four-game losing streak. The BlackJacks travel to face the Scarborough Shooting Stars on June 27 looking for their first winning streak of the season. The Stingers face the Guelph Nighthawks on June 25 to finish off their four-game road streak. 

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 fe 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.to 15-9. 

Media Contact

Alex Jap

Manager, Marketing and Communications.

(780)-266-2774

alexjap@thestingers.ca

www.thestingers.ca