Game-Winning Slam Sends River Lions to Fourth Straight Win and 98-89 Win over Shooting Stars

July 9, 2023
Josh Kozelj

An emphatic right-handed slam dunk by T.J. Lall in target score time lifted the Niagara River Lions (9-6) to a 98-89 victory over the Scarborough Shooting Stars (7-6) at the Meridian Centre on Sunday afternoon. 


Leading by seven, and one point away from victory, a half-court bounce pass from Khalil Ahmad set up a flying Lall to end a back-and-forth affair between two eastern conference heavyweights. 


“I saw the defender coming and I just wanted to end the game,” Lall said after the game. “So I went [to the hoop] as hard as I could.” 


The win also increased Niagara’s win streak to four and placed them one half game behind the eastern conference-leading Ottawa BlackJacks, who will play tonight in Vancouver at 10:00 pm ET. 


Ahmad finished with a game-high 31 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals. He also shot 68 per cent from the field and 8-9 from the free throw line. 


He credited Lall for being aggressive and getting to the hoop in the final play in target score.


“He’s fast, I trust my dog to throw it and he made it happen,” Ahmad said. 


Scarborough came into today’s game as winners of two straight and six of their last seven contests. The Shooting Stars, who last played on June 29, had a 10-day break after dispatching Edmonton at the end of June, but didn’t show any signs of rust from the opening tip. 


The Shooting Stars recorded 12 boards and 7 offensive rebounds in the first five minutes to take an early lead. 


“We send a few different guys to the glass every time, we force the issue with that and we have size in a lot of different positions,” said Kalif Young, who recorded 14 points and 5 offensive rebounds. 


As a team, Scarborough finished with 23 offensive rebounds. 


Niagara, however, fueled by a 5-0 run by Ahmad, took a seven-point lead with one minute to go in the first. 


“He’s good, he’s a gamer, he’s competitive,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said. “He takes what the defence gives him, today he was passing the ball well and rebounded well. Khalil is the MVP for a reason.” 


But Scarborough would use three straight three pointers in the final 46 seconds—highlighted by a buzzer-beating three by Kassius Robertson off the glass—to take a 21-20 lead after one. Scarborough converted 11 of 29 three pointers on the afternoon today. 


Robertson finished with 17 points and three threes. David Muenkat led all Scarborough scorers with 21 points and 9 rebounds, as Cat Barber struggled with foul trouble. 


Barber, who came into today’s game averaging 23.6 points per game (third best in the CEBL), recorded only 1 point on 0-10 shooting from the field. However, the Shooting Stars had four starters score 14 points or more, and David Walker chipped in with 11 off the bench. 


“We’re a resilient team and guys stepped up,” Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus said. “This is a good team we played and we put ourselves in a position to win the game.” 


In the second, both team’s traded baskets and refused to let either squad get too far ahead. 


Ahmad, who scored 9 of his 31 points in the second, was fouled on a lay-up at the hoop and converted the free throw to cap off an 8-2 run. But Kyree Walker, who finished with 17 points and a perfect 3-3 from three, countered with 7 in the quarter to make it a 45-43 Niagara lead at half. 


After the break, Niagara started to edge ahead. The River Lions led by nine points at point, buoyed by seven third quarter points from Jahvon Henry-Blair. 


But as soon as the River Lions tried to pull away, Scarborough responded with an 11-3 run to keep themselves in the game. 


Towards the end of the frame, Ahmad was fouled on an euro-step layup and converted his second and-one of the game. That layup helped Niagara extend their lead to six, however, Scarborough responded to take a two-point lead entering the fourth. 


A five-point possession was a major turning point in the final quarter. Ahmad drew an unsportsmanlike foul and knocked down a pair of free throws. And after inbounding the ball on the same possession, as a result of the foul, Blair drilled a three to put Niagara up by 5. 


Ahmad also drew Barber’s fourth personal of the game on a three-point attempt in the quarter, and Niagara led 88-85 entering target score time. 


Niagara then went on a 6-1 run, before Ahmad sunk another layup and set up Lall to end the game. 


Niagara will return to the court on July 16, when they travel to Scarborough and look to sweep the regular season series against the Shooting Stars. 


Scarborough, meanwhile, will look to get back on track on Friday against the Ottawa BlackJacks at the Toronto Pan Am Centre. 


Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. 


A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.

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