Veinot powers BlackJacks to regular season finale victory over Honey Badgers

Keevan Veinot flirted with a triple double, tallying 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as the Ottawa BlackJacks (9-11) closed out their 2024 CEBL regular season with a 116-104 win over the Brampton Honey Badgers (6-14) Monday at The Arena at TD Place.

The win was Ottawa’s third in its last four games as it now heads to Scarborough for a post- season matchup with the Shooting Stars on Friday.

“I think the main purpose of today was finish the game with high hopes, be optimistic, get some momentum, and now we’re heading into a do or die in Scarborough,” said Veinot after the game. “So, coming off [today’s win], the team will be in full stride.”

Ottawa’s been a battle-tested team all season long, dealing with injuries and players in and out of the lineup because of other commitments, but managed to stick through the lows of the early part of the season to emerge as a playoff threat.

“We’ve definitely had some highs and lows – not only in the season, but in games – and we’ve managed to stay resilient,” said BlackJacks head coach James Derouin. “I think we were down 10 today at one point in the third and we managed to stay with it and get the win.

“So, these are the things that you want to go through as a team, so that, when you are in a do- or-die situation, you can tell them that they’ve been there before and it’s true and hopefully they respond when that happens in the playoffs.”

Mirroring how their 2024 regular season went, the BlackJacks looked shaky in the early goings Monday, but turned it on in the second half to cruise to victory.

Brampton beat up Ottawa on the offensive glass in the first half of the game, securing 16 offensive rebounds for 21 second-chance points.

The Honey Badgers’ strong play continued into the third quarter, where they led by as many as 10, but thanks to a six-point outburst from Veinot in the frame, and a 7-2 run to close the period, Ottawa was able to cut Brampton’s lead down to one, 88-87, heading into the fourth, where Ottawa took control and never looked back.

Losing six straight to finish their season, it was a disappointing end for the Honey Badgers, who were leading the BlackJacks for that final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference for much of the season.

“I think everything is always a learning experience,” said Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy. “That’s something that we came into the season talking about. Taking every opportunity to grow and to have a growth mindset, and so that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“We’re taking a growth mindset from roster construction, for myself to just to continue to get better and understand what I want to do offensively and defensively and the guys learning from each experience, too. Every season is different and different things happen through the season.

We have a lot of under our control and a lot of things out of our control and it’s just learning how to deal with it.”

In a bright spot to close their season, Honey Badgers guard LJ Thorpe matched the CEBL single-game record for assists with 16. The mark also saw him eclipse 100 assists for his CEBL career, in the regular season and playoffs.

“My teammates hitting shots,” said Thorpe with a laugh when asked about how he got to such a high assist total. “They let me put them in a position to hit them with the ball. I have nothing but kind words for those guys. I love those guys and they let me have a great season.”

Winnipeg Sea Bears guard Justin Wright-Foreman originally set the record of 16 earlier this season on June 27 against the Niagara River Lions.

The 16 assists Thorpe dished out is a new Honey Badgers team record.