Honey Badgers best River Lions to claim 1st place in CEBL, semifinal berth
Nighthawks defeat Growlers to improve playoff position
The Hamilton Honey Badgers locked up first place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in style, topping the second place Niagara River Lions 76-73 in a nail-biter on Friday night.
Additionally, the Honey Badgers ensured themselves a semifinal spot on August 12 on championship weekend.
After the score was knotted at 73 — three points away from the winning score of 76 — Hamilton guard Aaron Best had the chance to ice the game with three free throws, but was only able to connect on the first two, keeping the door open for Niagara.
Best had another shot to put the game away at the line when River Lions guard Elijah Mitrou-Long fouled him on a fast break, and the 29-year-old didn't miss — finishing with a game-high 22 points.
Hamilton carries a 14-5 record into Sunday's regular season finale against the River Lions, never losing more than two games in a row on the season.
Big buckets for the birthday boy <a href="https://twitter.com/RiverLions?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RiverLions</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/ItsNxtLevel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ItsNxtLevel</a> (US Only)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NRLvsHHB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NRLvsHHB</a> <a href="https://t.co/NTQ3hOoofM">pic.twitter.com/NTQ3hOoofM</a>
—@CEBLeagueNiagara sits at 12-7, and can clinch second place with a win on Sunday.
Davis Jr. led the way for the River Lions with 21 points on 63 per cent shooting.
The two teams play again in Hamilton on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. The game can be seen live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the free CBC Sports app.
Nighthawks top red-hot Growlers
The expansion Newfoundland Growlers started the season in an 0-10 hole, but entered Friday night's clash with the Guelph Nighthawks as the hottest team in the CEBL over the last two weeks, winning their last four matches.
The Nighthawks brought that streak to an end in St. John's, defeating the Growlers 87-80.
The Nighthawks finished the season with a 10-10 record, and will have to wait for the weekend's games to play out to determine their opponent in Thursday's play-in game.
The duo that gets it done <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFGvsGNH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFGvsGNH</a> <a href="https://t.co/4ygCplGGLL">pic.twitter.com/4ygCplGGLL</a>
—@CEBLeagueForward Giorgi Bezhanishvili led the way for Guelph, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, shooting at a stellar 66 per cent rate.
Jermel Kennedy put forth the most well-rounded effort of the evening for Newfoundland, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
The Growlers will wrap their season up on Sunday when they host the Scarborough Shooting Stars at 1:30 p.m. NT, which can be seen live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the free CBC Sports app.
Rattlers cap season with crucial road win over Alliance
After struggling on the road for the majority of the season, the Saskatchewan Rattlers closed their season out with an 82-72 win in Montreal over the Alliance.
Climbing into fifth place for the time being with an 11-9 record, the Rattlers will surely hope to secure home court for the playoffs as they boast an 8-2 record at the SaskTel Centre — the top mark in the CEBL.
Protecting the paint. 💂♀️<a href="https://twitter.com/SASK_Rattlers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SASK_Rattlers</a> <br><br>📺 CEBL Mobile app, CEBL+, <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/ItsNxtLevel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@itsnxtlevel</a> (US Only)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MTLvsSKR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MTLvsSKR</a> <a href="https://t.co/qDcsfrEvZh">pic.twitter.com/qDcsfrEvZh</a>
—@CEBLeagueSaskatchewan earned the victory via a balanced attack, with five players posting double-digit point totals, led by Tony Carr's 18.
The Alliance will try to secure their first road win of the year when they travel to Ottawa to play the BlackJacks on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The game will mark the end of the 2022 CEBL regular season before playoffs begin on Thursday, and can be seen live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the free CBC Sports app.
