Hill, Bryson combine for 40 points as Guelph beats Ottawa to clinch 5th place
Stingers survive late scare to round out season with win over Bandits
Ahmed Hill scored 21 points to help the Guelph Nighthawks claim a tight 89-85 victory over the Ottawa Blackjacks on Friday and clinch the fifth spot in the 2021 CEBL regular season.
League newcomer Michael Bryson added 19 points and converted a series of three free throws to get Guelph to reach the Elam Ending target of 89 points.
Mamadou Gueye lead Ottawa with 18 points, followed by Earl Calloway, who had 15.
Both teams entered Elam Ending time tied at 80 after entertaining fans at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph with a tight contest for the whole game.
Michael Bryson has been a game changer for the <a href="https://twitter.com/GNighthawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GNighthawks</a> since arriving halfway through the season. <br><br>His 19 PTS along with the game winner tonight prove just what type of energy he’s brought to the Royal City 💪<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurGame?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OurGame</a> <a href="https://t.co/lbnoEgAXm9">pic.twitter.com/lbnoEgAXm9</a>
—@CEBLeagueGuelph (5-9) leapfrogged Ottawa (4-9) for fifth in the standings and will face the fourth seed Fraser Valley Bandits (5-7) in the quarter-finals at the 2021 CEBL Championship in Edmonton from Aug. 18 to Aug. 22.
Edmonton Stingers (12-1), who sit atop of the league, have a spot in the league's semifinal for being the host team. They will be joined by the Niagara River Lions (9-4), who had the the second-best regular-season campaign.
Guelph wrapped up its regular season with Friday's win, but Ottawa will play one more time as they are set to visit Niagara on Sunday.
Stingers survive late scare to round out season with win
Xavier Moon scored 26 points as the Edmonton Stingers survived an Elam Ending push by the Fraser Valley Bandits to round out their regular season with a 88-87 win.
Marlon Johnson added 23 points for Edmonton as the reigning champions completed an almost unbeaten 13-1 regular season campaign.
Marlon Johnson has been automatic from that exact corner all season.<br><br>17 PTS <br>8 REB<br>6 AST <br>3 STL <br>1 BLK<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/ED_Stingers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ED_Stingers</a> big man has had MASSIVE production tonight, what a statline through 3 quarters 👀<br><br>💻: <a href="https://t.co/NVk3EPx257">https://t.co/NVk3EPx257</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurGame?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OurGame</a> <a href="https://t.co/lcf1urh2hp">pic.twitter.com/lcf1urh2hp</a>
—@CEBLeagueKenny Manigault had 24 points to lead Fraser Valley, which had multiple chances to win the game after rallying late to obliterate Edmonton's 10-point lead when Elam Ending started.
It was a much different story the last time the two sides clashed. Edmonton recorded the largest margin of victory in CEBL history when they beat Fraser Valley 106-65 on Wednesday.
Fraser Valley Bandits (5-7) will still visit the Saskatchewan Rattlers (1-11), the only team that will not feature in the 2021 CEBL Championship Weekend, on Sunday and Tuesday.
