The Hamilton Honey Badgers travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Ottawa BlackJacks on July 24 at 2 pm ET as they try to move closer to clinching the first seed and a bye to the CEBL Championship Weekend semi-finals.

The Honey Badgers (13-4) are first in the standings coming off an 88-81 loss to the Edmonton Stingers on July 17. Since then, they’ve had a week break between games.

Hamilton welcomes back Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. and Christian Vital back from the NBA Summer League. Tilmon Jr. leads all players in field goal percentage (66.7 per cent). Vital leads the team in scoring (averaging 17.6 points) and is second in average steals among all players (2.2).

They will replace guard Isaiah Reese and Joel James, who both made an impact in their five-game stint with the team. The team’s depth has been on display as four players average double figure points and seven players average over four rebounds.

Guard Koby McEwen has had a strong recent couple of games. He scored 27 points against the Scarborough Shooting Stars before scoring 22 points against Edmonton. McEwen is second on the team in three-point percentage at 43 per cent.

Hamilton’s rebounding will be a key factor against Ottawa. The BlackJacks are first in the CEBL in average rebounds (37.9) while the Honey Badgers are second (37.3).

Tilmon Jr. and teammate Prince Oduro will be up against Ottawa’s Chad Posthumus, who is second in the league in average rebounds (8.2).

The BlackJacks and Honey Badgers both share the ball as Ottawa is second in average assists (19.1) while Hamilton is third (18.2). Ottawa’s Walt Lemon Jr. is second in average assists (5.9) while Hamilton’s Caleb Agada is third (5.6).

The BlackJacks (5-12) are guaranteed a spot in the CEBL Championship Weekend semi-finals but are looking to end a four game losing streak. In the previous game, they lost 94-80 at home to the Newfoundland Growlers.

An area to improve on from that game is their shooting. They shot 37 per cent from the field and 16 per cent from three. Lemon Jr. led them with 21 points and six assists while Deng Adel had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Former University of Ottawa point guard Johnny Berhanemeskel was reunited with his former university coach James Derouin as he made his season debut for the BlackJacks against Newfoundland. Berhanemeskel finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

He will help Lemon Jr. and Kadre Gray with the ball-handling duties as they face a stingy Hamilton defence. The Honey Badgers lead the league in average steals (9.2) as the turnover battle should be crucial in deciding this game. Ottawa themselves have 7.8 on average and had 12 against the Growlers. Forward Thomas Scrubb led the team with four steals.

The BlackJacks will be looking to bounce back from their 86-75 defeat to the Honey Badgers on July 2. In that game, Hamilton won the first quarter 25-13 and led 44-30 at halftime. The BlackJacks made a second half push but fell short. How the teams start this game will be important.

The game could also serve as a possible semi-finals preview if the seeding stays as it is currently. Ottawa is currently eighth place and would be the lowest seed in the semi-finals.

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 .