BlackJacks Down Alliance 81-62 in Regular Season Finale
The Ottawa BlackJacks closed out their regular season with an 81-62 home triumph over the Montréal Alliance.
It was the BlackJacks’ third win in a row as they finish eighth (7-12) in the final standings. The Alliance (4-16) lost their sixth straight game to finish tenth. BlackJacks guard Walt Lemon Jr. was back in the lineup after missing the past few games.
The game started close before Ottawa pulled away in the second quarter.
Both teams didn’t score on their first few possessions before Johnny Berhanemeskel hit a three. Ottawa’s Deng Adel and Montréal’s Elijah Ifejeh both scored at the rim as the home team led 9-4. Chad Posthumus came off the bench and went to work in the paint to score twice.
The Alliance made a run as Hernst Laroche stole the ball and layed it in at the other end to trim the lead to three. While the threes didn’t fall, Montréal focused on getting into the paint. They trailed 21-15 after 10 minutes.
Montréal’s Mambi Diwara drew fouls getting to the rim and hit the free throws in addition to hitting a jump shot to keep the game close. Alain Louis hit the Alliance’s first three of the game and James Jean-Marie scored to give the visitors their first lead of the game.
Ottawa then went on a 12-0 run with threes by Berhanemeskel and Thomas Scrubb. The home team went ahead 40-36 at the half after Montréal’s Kemy Osse sank a three at the buzzer.
Berhanemeskel nailed his fifth three-pointer on five attempts. Isiah Osborne responded with two triples of his own to keep the score close.
The BlackJacks picked up the pace by increasing their pace in transition. Lemon Jr. picked up his scoring with five quick points as Ottawa increased their lead to 59-47 after three quarters.
Kadre Gray added a corner three while the home crowd cheered as Adel rose up to block Laroche’s layup at the rim. The BlackJacks kept their double-digit lead going into the Elam Ending.
Montréal made defensive stops while Rickman and Osse sank jump shots to decrease the deficit to nine points. However, Ottawa responded with scores by Lemon Jr. and back-to-back threes by Berhanemeskel.
The BlackJacks fared well on the glass (47-38 rebounding advantage) and from three (40 per cent). Berhanemeskel led all players with 25 points while Lemon Jr. contributed 13 points and four assists. Posthumus had another double-double (12 points, 15 rebounds).
“I feel good. I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Berhanemeskel noted. “It was a good win. You’ve got to win those kind of games too. When Montréal was playing their style of game, we knew it was going to be tough and we gutted it out. I think we got a little bit better today.”
He noted how everyone on the team had their moments during their three-game winning streak.
The Alliance shot 36 per cent from the field and 20 per cent from three. They outscored Ottawa 37-29 in bench points with Ifejeh (15 points, seven rebounds) and Osborne (eight points, three assists, one steal) being the key contributors.
Among the starters, Rickman finished with nine points and one steal while Cayo led the team with 11 rebounds and three steals.
“They were better than us,” Louis said. “They played with more energy…we just did not bring the fight in the second half.”
Louis said the team learned a lot from the season. “If we could get more time together, it could work out,” he noted. The former Carleton Raven and BlackJacks guard called it “cool” being back in Ottawa.
The BlackJacks face the Hamilton Honey Badgers in the CEBL Championship Weekend semi-finals in Ottawa on Aug. 12.
Fans will be able to live stream all games including the playoffs on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. As part of its playoff coverage, CBC Sports will broadcast the quarterfinal games Sunday, August 7, semifinal games Friday, August 12, and the Championship game on Sunday, August 14. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change.
The CEBL’s fourth regular season began May 25 and ends August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
