Edmonton defeats Hamilton in dominant fashion to remain undefeated
Stingers' 27-0 run in 3rd quarter proves too much for Honey Badgers to recover from
Xavier Moon scored a game-high 34 points, in addition to picking up eight steals in the Edmonton Stingers' commanding 99-63 win over the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Thursday night.
Edmonton (7-0) came into this much-anticipated matchup looking to continue its dominant start to the season and defeat the home Honey Badgers for the second time this season.
On the other hand, Hamilton (6-2) looked to avenge its season-opening loss to the Stingers, push its winning streak to seven games, and take over first-place in the CEBL.
Unfortunately for the Honey Badgers, the game went nothing of the sort.
WATCH | Stingers completely dominate Honey Badgers en route to 7th straight win:
The first quarter was relatively close, although in stretches, it felt as though Edmonton was up by more than they were.
Hamilton didn't fall short from an efficiency standpoint — the issue was the Stingers' rebounding prowess and ball movement, taking advantage of second chance opportunities.
Edmonton's ability to disrupt passing lanes also allowed them to control the pace and get out in transition.
Coming out of the first quarter down 25-16, Hamilton managed to find its footing starting the second quarter with a 7-0 run and Edmonton being unable to score until the 6:56 mark of the frame.
Despite Moon's offensive struggles, his facilitating and defence (seven steals in the first half alone) allowed the Stingers to fire back with a 9-0 run to go up 11 points.
Edmonton pushed its lead to 12 shortly after, but was unable to hold off Hamilton from cutting into its lead, going into the half up 41-35.
The third quarter is where Edmonton let the sparks fly and completely took over the game. The Stingers went on a 27-0 run from the nine-minute mark to the three-minute mark of the third frame, going up 70-43.
Edmonton bumped the lead to 30 not long after, eventually finishing the third up 75-52, behind Moon's 20-point quarter.
Marlon Johnson finished with a double-double for Edmonton scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Edmonton native Jordan Baker contributed 13 points and 4 rebounds on the night.
Despite his struggles (six turnovers for the game), Wigginton led the Honey Badgers with 12 points in addition to Thomas Kennedy's 11 points off the bench.
Edmonton will next face the struggling Ottawa BlackJacks on Saturday, while Hamilton will next play the Niagara River Lions on the same evening.
