The Edmonton Stinger (5-4) hold the final playoff spot at the halfway mark of the inaugural CEBL season.

There is not a more Jekyll-and-Hyde type team in the league as Edmonton. On Friday night, the Stingers play host to the best team on the court in the Niagara River Lions (9-2). While Niagara has been terrific for pretty much the entire 2019 campaign, Edmonton has been consistently inconsistent.

(Tickets available at TicketMaster. Watch via CEBL TV or the CBC Gem App ).

The River Lions are coming off an impressive 108-96 win over the second-place Hamilton Honey Badgers on Wednesday night at Meridian Centre. In typical Niagara fashion, the team was 15-for-37 (.405) from beyond the arc, led by sharpshooter Ryan Anderson, who made seven-of-11 triples, en route to a game- high 25 points. Niagara remains undefeated at home (6-0). The only two losses for River Lions this season came at the hands of the same Honey Badgers on June 12, and the Edmonton team they play at Expo Centre.

It was May 10, the first game for the Stingers and the second in as many nights on the road for the River Lions. Edmonton gave up a six-point lead in the final frame but knocked out a tired Niagara squad in overtime to take the game 118-105. It was one of only two times this season the Stingers were able to score 100-plus points.

Fast-forward six days to the rematch May 16 in Niagara and the River Lions sent a message to Edmonton that the loss was an anomaly. The 108-66 win for Niagara is the largest margin of victory (42) in the CEBL this season.

With Barnaby Craddock stepping down as the head coach and general manager of the Stingers on June 19, new bench boss Jermaine Small is looking to find some consistency in a team that has shown signs of good ball scattered throughout an up-and-down season.

Edmonton is averaging a league-worst 87.6 points per contest. Even the winless Fraser Valley Bandits are averaging 91.2 points on offence. The amazing statistical splits occur in location and victories for the Stingers. They average 98.0 points in wins, but only 74.5 points in losses. Edmonton enjoys playing at home where they have a record of 4-1 and average 94.6 points, however they have scrambled to produce just 78.8 points per road game.

If the three-point game becomes a factor on Friday, as it usually does in this league, then Niagara should be the first team to 10 wins this season. The River Lions have made 146 triples this year, enjoying a .386 shooting accuracy – both tops in the CEBL. The Stingers rank sixth in both categories with just 77 field goals made beyond the arc at a .304 pace.

Edmonton has not played since its 104-94 overtime win over Fraser Valley on June 21. Niagara will be travelling half-way across the country during its only day in between games. If the Stingers have a chance of beating the River Lions, they must try to run them out of Expo Centre … and don’t let them shoot.

HEAD-TO-HEAD STATISTICS
Edmonton (5-4)   Niagara (9-2)
1-1    Head-to-Head    1-1
92.0      PPG      106.5
.434 (62-143)  FG%    .490 (74-151)
.321 (17-53)   3FG%    .465 (33-71)
.694 (43-62)   FT%     .711 (32-45)
99 (31-68)   REB (OR-DR)  74 (17-57)
31      AST       35
43      TO        31
35     PTS off TO      44
20     BENCH PTS     86

May 10, 2019 at Edmonton: Edmonton 118, Niagara 105 (OT)
Leading scorers: Edmonton (X. Moon, 36), Niagara (G. Payen-Boucard, 25)
Leading rebounders: Edmonton (A. Ellis / M. Gueye, 8), Niagara (N. Mitrovic, 6)
May 16, 2019 at Niagara: Niagara 108, Edmonton 66
Leading scorers: Edmonton (A X. Moon, 26), Niagara (R. Anderson, 21)
Leading rebounders: Edmonton (J. Baker, 14), Niagara (Y. Dalembert / G. Payen-Boucard, 8)