River Lions beat BlackJacks, finish CEBL regular season unbeaten at home

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — The Niagara River Lions marked Fan Appreciation Night at the Meridian Centre on Saturday with a 109-97 win over the visiting Ottawa BlackJacks.

The River Lions, who finished the regular season with a 10-0 home record and 14-6 overall for first in the Canadian Elite Basketball League's Eastern Conference, also earned home court advantage for the East semifinal on Aug. 4, where they'll meet the winner of the Scarborough Shooting Stars-BlackJacks play-in game on Aug. 2.

The Montreal Alliance, which hosts CEBL championship weekend Aug. 9-11, are in the East final as host team, while the Vancouver Bandits are in the West final by virtue of finishing first in the Western Conference.

Jahvon Blair led the River Lions on Saturday with 23 points, while Khalil Ahmad had 22 points and Nathan Cayo chipped in with 17.

Tyrrel Tate paced the BlackJacks with 22 points, while Shamar Givance and Keevan Veinot each scored 20.

The River Lions led 56-52 at halftime and outscored the BlackJacks 29-24 in the third quarter.

THROW-INS: The Vancouver Bandits (14-5) finish their regular season on Sunday with a game against the host Montreal Alliance (5-14). And the Calgary Surge visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars in a battle of 11-8 teams. The regular season ends on Monday with two games — the Brampton Honey Badgers (6-13) visit the BlackJacks, while the Winnipeg Sea Bears (9-10) visit the Edmonton Stingers (12-7). … Laval-based French rapper Shreez will perform at the Western Conference final on Aug. 9 at Verdun Auditorium.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2024.