Report: The Niagara River Lions Silences The Hamilton Honey Badgers Roar!

July 25, 2020, would embark the debut of the CEBL Summer Series! This season is much different from last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic where many sports leagues such as the NBA, NHL and many more had to cancel their season until further notice. Surely enough, the CEBL has acted accordingly and managed to bring back its second season in league history! 

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The first game in the Summer Series was a match-up that Canadian fans have been eager to see. After losing in the semi-conference finals last year, Niagara entered this game with revenge to defeat the Hamilton Honey Badgers. Niagara at the start played sloppy basketball as they were turning the ball over various times while the Badgers started well as a unit. From their shooting to their defence, Hamilton was looking like the early victors of this contest but had no match against Daniel Mullings, a recruit for the Niagara River Lions. In the first quarter, Mullings was doing everything as he shot the ball efficiently while also rebounding with ease. Hamilton had there own weapons, including Owen Klassen, who immediately made a name for himself in the CEBL. His contributions inside the paint were unstoppable as Niagara had no match against him despite having some great inside defenders such as Samuel Muldrow and Ryan Ejim. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 22-19, with Niagara having a slight edge. 

At the start of the second quarter, Hamilton needed to make some noise if they wanted to win this game. Early on in the quarter, both Briante Weber and Jean-Victor Mukama scored a few buckets that would allow the Badgers to build some momentum. Unfortunately, their streak of shooting wouldn’t last long due to the exceptionally talented secondary unit that Niagara possessed. With players such as Grandy Glaze, Ryan Anderson, Dorian Pinson and Ryan Ejim, the Badgers struggled to score as Niagara displayed elite defence. As a result, Niagara would capitalize and would score 26 points in the second quarter while the Badgers were left in a drought with just 15. The Hamilton Honey-Badgers were in trouble as they looked sharp in the first quarter but were quickly exposed offensively in the second. 

The third quarter had many similarities to the previous two when discussing Niagara basketball. Daniel Mullings would put on a show this quarter as he scored the ball numerous times and grabbed crucial rebounds. If the Badgers wanted to win this game, they should have treated it as a playoff game, considering that they were down by more than 12 points! Instead, they played worse than the previous quarter as they had troubles distributing the ball. The number of turnovers that occurred in this quarter for the Badgers was obscene as they started to look like a completely different team from the first quarter. Niagara, however, was the complete opposite. While Mullings was continuing his elite performance, other players such as Kassius Robertson, Guillaume Boucard, Ryan Anderson and Grandy Glaze all had incredible performances. From Robertson’s consistent shooting to Glaze’s hustle, the River Lions played this game with a message and a chip on their shoulder. Niagara would score 27 points, and the Badgers would again continue their scoring drought. 

Entering the fourth quarter, Niagara would have a much more significant jump at winning this game as the score was 75-57. However, the Honey-Badgers refused to give up as they still had fuel in the tank to win this game. Briante Weber would play a significant role in the Badgers offence as he sent a message to all CEBL teams as to why he was once in the NBA. Weber, Klassen and Duane Notice were all exceptional in this final quarter of basketball but was still not enough for the elite roster that Niagara possesses. From Trae Bell-Haynes scoring numerous buckets to Robertson continuing to score three-pointers, this game was close to being over, but the Badgers still had a final chance! 

A new rule has been released for this CEBL Summer Series, where the timer stops at four minutes of play. Instead, nine points are added to the team that has the most points. This can be an advantage to the losing team, considering that time is unlimited in this situation. Organizations have a cushion for time as they don’t necessarily need rush, but the shot-clock is still present in the duration of the last four minutes of play. In this game, the first team to reach 96 points would be crowned the winners, which allowed Hamilton to come back. Surely enough, Hamilton would make a comeback as they managed to go from being down 18 points to now 10! However, Daniel Mullings, the MVP of this game, would check-in and immediately score the final points. Hamilton’s impressive comeback would be quickly diminished with the final score of 97-85, where Niagara win the first game of the CEBL 2020 season!