Hill leads undermanned Nighthawks to victory, snap Honey Badgers' 6-game win streak

Ahmed Hill scored a team-high 23 points as the undermanned Guelph Nighthawks squad snapped the Hamilton Honey Badgers' six-game winning streak with a 89-83 victory on Sunday.

Guelph guard scores 23 as team extends win streak to 5

CBC Sports · Posted: Jun 19, 2022 5:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 20, 2022

Nighthawks guard Ahmed Hill, right, scored a team-high 23 points in a 89-83 win over the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Sunday in Guelph, Ont. (@CEBLeague/Twitter)

Ahmed Hill scored a team-high 23 points as the undermanned Guelph Nighthawks squad snapped the Hamilton Honey Badgers' six-game winning streak with a 89-83 victory on Sunday in Guelph, Ont.

Missing both Cat Barber and AJ Lawson, the Nighthawks (6-3), who have now won five games in a row themselves, were able to avenge an 18-point loss to Hamilton (7-2) earlier in the season.

Following a tight opening frame where Guelph took a one-point lead at the end, the Honey Badgers opened the second quarter with a 15-0 run to go up 33-19.

The Nighthawks did not let it wear on them though.

Guelph quickly answered back over the near-five minutes with a 10-2 run of their own to cut the deficit to just six.

Highlights from Q2. <a href="https://twitter.com/GNighthawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GNighthawks</a> 🆚 <a href="https://twitter.com/HM_HoneyBadgers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HM_HoneyBadgers</a> <br><br>📺 CEBL Mobile app, <a href="https://t.co/oz5oymqIst">https://t.co/oz5oymqIst</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/cbcsports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cbcsports</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/cbcgem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cbcgem</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GNHvsHHB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GNHvsHHB</a> <a href="https://t.co/iCugMBGlPR">pic.twitter.com/iCugMBGlPR</a>
—@CEBLeague

Going into the third down 43-35, the Nighthawks went on a 9-0 run to take the lead at the 7:38 mark. Neither side was able to take a lead larger than three points the rest of the way and closed the frame tied at 58.

In the fourth, Guelph was able to maintain a small lead behind a combined 12 points from Clayton Henry and Stefan Smith within the first 6:11 of the frame.

Up 80-76 at the start of the Elam Ending, with a target score of 89, it was Hill who led the way, scoring six of the Nighthawks' final nine points, including the game-sealing shot.

Happy Father’s Day 🎉<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GNHvsHHB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GNHvsHHB</a> <a href="https://t.co/l577HiHDQb">pic.twitter.com/l577HiHDQb</a>
—@CEBLeague

Guelph had six players score in double-figures with AJ Hess (14), Sean Miller-Moore (12), TJ Lall (10), Smith (10), Henry (10), in addition to Hill's 23.

Hamilton was led by Zane Waterman's 23-point, eight-rebound effort, along with Caleb Agada's 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

The Nighthawks will look to extend their win streak when they next play the Fraser Valley Bandits on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the Honey Badgers will aim to bounce back in a rematch against the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Both games can be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Sports App, and CBC Gem.

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