It’s hard to believe it but the inaugural Canadian Elite Basketball League season has reached its halfway point. Each team has now played at least half of its 20 games and the league is shaping up to provide an exciting finish down the stretch as teams compete to earn their spot in Championship Weekend set to take place in Saskatoon August 22-25, 2019.

The Niagara River Lions, Hamilton Honey Badgers and Edmonton Stingers have emerged over the past month as strong contenders for the first CEBL Championship. The Guelph Nighthawks and Fraser Valley Bandits are working hard to capitalize on recent successes with the hope of having their hard work pay off with wins in the second half of the season and while the Saskatchewan Rattlers have their spot in Championship Weekend guaranteed as hosts, they will need to find their groove and play their best basketball down the stretch if they hope to win it all.

Here’s a breakdown of where each team is at halfway through the 2019 CEBL Season.

The Niagara River Lions feature the league’s leading offense. Niagara’s 103 points per game are four more than any other team and the River Lions possess the league’s best field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and have scored 44 more three-pointers than the next best team (157 compared to 113).

Niagara has seven players averaging more than 10 points per game. That, combined with the fact that the River Lions lead the CEBL in assists means that their offense is almost impossible to contain. Guillaume Payen Boucard leads the team with 15.8 points per game while Ryan Anderson has added 14.5 points off the bench this season. Anderson has averaged 3.5 three-pointers per game and is joined by Nem Metrovic (12.2 ppg, 2.8 3PT per game) and Kassius Robertson (11.3 ppg, 2.4 3PT per game) in leading the team’s attack beyond the arc. Dorian Pinson , Alex Johnson and Trae Bell-Haynes each average between 3.9 and 3.4 assists per game for the River Lions.

Niagara is undefeated at home (6-0), but just 3-3 on the road. The River Lions have a league best 4.7 blocks and 9.6 steals per game and excel in transition but with the league’s inaugural Championship Weekend set to take place in Saskatchewan at the Rattler’s home court, the River Lions will have to find consistent success on the road if they hope to win the championship.

Hamilton is 2-3 in their last five games but have had a difficult stretch in the schedule, playing the Niagara River Lions 3 times (Hamilton is 1-2 in those matchups). In games against all other teams the Honey Badgers are 6-2 this season.

Hamilton’s offense is second in the CEBL at 99 points per game and has been led by Demetrius Denzel-Dyson (20 points per game, 3.1 3PT made per game) and Ricky Tarrant Jr (18.3 ppg, 4.7 assists per game). The team features a well-balanced offense with five players averaging 10 points per game and a defensive unit anchored by Ryan Ejim who leads the league with nine rebounds per game to go along with 14 ppg and veteran Mike Fraser is chipping in 6.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

The Honey Badgers have strength and size up front as well as quick guards. They are well balanced in almost all facets of the game and rank in the top half of the league in nearly every offensive statistic. They look like a complete team and Head Coach Chantel Vallée has her team well-poised to dominate in the second half of the season.

The Edmonton Stingers finished the first half of their season with an exciting 105-99 win over the Niagara River Lions. The team has been dominant at home, winning 5 of their six home games to start the season but have won just once on the road in four games.

The Stingers average just 89.3 points per game, the least in the CEBL, but they lead the league in rebounds per game, averaging 42.7, and feature two of the top five rebounders in the league, Jordan Baker (8.7 rebounds per game) and Grandy Glaze (7.2 rpg). Baker is also second in team scoring with 14.4 points per game and first in assists per game, averaging 3.8). Edmonton’s leading scorer is Travis Daniel. The 27-year-old forward is shooting an impressive 67% from the field this season, leading all players in the CEBL.

The Stinger’s next five games include three matchups against the 3-7 Guelph Nighthawks. If they can split their two games against the Hamilton Honey Badgers and beat the Nighthawks, they may look like a lock for Championship Weekend.

The Saskatchewan Rattlers looked like the team to beat early in the CEBL season as they got off to a 3-1 start but have since fallen back to the pack and are 3-4 in their last seven games. After losing to the Niagara River Lions 94-83 on June 21, the Rattlers lost 101-89 to the Fraser Valley Bandits giving the Bandits their first win of the season after starting 0-9.

6’8” Forward Tavrion Dawson leads the Canadian Elite Basketball League in scoring, averaging 21 points per game. He also leads the Rattlers in rebounds per game with 8 (good for third league wide). Guard Bruce Massey is second on the Rattlers in scoring with 19.1 ppg (third in CEBL) averages a team high 5.6 assists per game and a league leading 2.3 steals per game. Negus Webster-Chan is currently making 46.3% of his three-point attempts and joins Alex Campbell as two of the top five players in terms of most three-pointers made this season.

The Rattlers face two difficult opponents in their next two games in the Niagara River Lions and Hamilton Honey Badger’s, the league’s top two teams. Saskatchewan has a guaranteed spot in the league’s Championship Weekend but if they want to advance and make a run at the first title, they’re going to need to find the groove they had at the beginning of the season.

The Guelph Nighthawks started the season 2-3 but have gone 1-4 since then and find themselves with a lot of ground to make up in the second half of the season.

The Nighthawks have demonstrated an incredible ability to come back from first half deficits this season and feature the league’s second best shooting percentage at 46.8%. Myck Kabongo leads the Nighthawks both in scoring with 17.4 points per game and in getting his teammates involved, notching 7.3 assists per game. 7’0” Forward Zeke Marshall is unmatched in terms of size but has not managed to elude foul trouble, limiting his ability to contribute to just 19 minutes per game this season despite shooting 62% and recording 1.6 blocks per game. Jamal Reynolds (15.6 ppg 5.4 rpg, 2.9 apg), Chadrack Lufile (12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Olu Famutimi (11.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.6 apg) all play key factors in the Nighthawks ability to compete in each game.

The Nighthawks have their work cut out for them but have a real opportunity to capitalize on the success they’ve seen in second halves. Guelph avoids the league’s top two teams in Niagara and Hamilton for the next five games of their schedule and if they can capitalize on this stretch, they could be right in the mix for a trip to Championship Weekend.

After starting the season 0-9, the Fraser Valley Bandits got their first win in the tenth game of their season, beating the Saskatchewan Rattlers in convincing fashion 101-89. The win takes pressure off a team that has played much better than their record indicates. Six of the Bandits losses have been by less than 10 points demonstrating that Fraser Valley has what it takes to compete this season, if they can build on their recent success.

Marek Klassen leads the CEBL with 7.3 assists per game and adds 12 points per game while playing a near team high 30 minutes per game. Klassen is joined by newcomer Chris McLaughlan (22ppg) and forward Tyrrel Tate who is contributing 17.4 points per game.

Unlike Guelph, Fraser Valley plays the Niagara River Lions and Hamilton Honey Badgers twice each in the next five game stretch of their schedule. The addition of Chris McLaughlin who has scored 22 points in each of his first two games in a Bandits uniform should help turn the tide for Fraser Valley. If the Bandits can win half their games coming up against Hamilton an Niagara it will be a great strive for a team that has worked hard to find their footing this season.

The race for the Championship Weekend is on and you can buy tickets to all games via ticketmaster.ca. Games can also be watched live online on CEBL.tv, CBCsports.ca, CBC gem and the CBC sports app.

Written by Zach Dadson