The Newfoundland Growlers will seek their first win of the season against the Edmonton Stingers in their last matchup of a five game road trip at Edmonton Expo Centre at 7:00 p.m. MT on Thursday night. The Growlers lost to the Stingers in their season opener 89-74 in St. John’s.
Edmonton enters Thursday’s game in fifth place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League standings at 6-5 while the Growlers sit in the league’s basement at 0-9. Of their nine losses to open the season, six have come on the road. Newfoundland have come close to victory several times, with four of their losses decided by four points or less.
On their road trip so far, the Growlers have lost 89-82 to the Guelph Nighthawks, 95-91 to the Hamilton Honey Badgers, 94-92 to the Fraser Valley Bandits and 90-71 to the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Tuesday night. The defending champion Stingers are coming off a 101-95 road win over the Guelph Nighthawks on Saturday that put the defending champions back above .500.
The Stingers’ win was powered by three 20-point performances. Brody Clarke had a game-high 25 points in 20 minutes of action on 8-15 shooting from the field and 9-9 from the free throw line while hauling in 11 rebounds. Marlon Johnson and Adika Peter-McNeilly each had impressive nights with 20 points each. Johnson added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals while Peter-McNeilly provided 4 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench.
In the Stingers victory over Newfoundland earlier this season, Jordan Baker and Devon Bookert led the way for Edmonton with 17 points apiece while Jahvon Blair and Brandon Sampson opened the season with 22 points and 20 points respectively, However, both rosters look different from the meeting earlier this season.
Edmonton has added championship experience with Marlon Johnson and Mathieu Kamba along with a few other additions while Newfoundland has welcomed Nysier Brooks, Terry Thomas, Jermel Kennedy and former Cape Breton University Caper Meshack Lufile.
Lufile’s former Capers teammate Shaquille Keith has been a bright spot for Newfoundland so far this season in seven games played, averaging 17.4 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and a league second-best 2.4 steals per game. Growlers’ star Brandon Sampson continues to lead the CEBL in scoring at 21.3 points per game on an efficient 50.4 per cent from the field while Jahvon Blair is averaging 11.2 points per game. In fewer games, Terry Thomas and Nysier Brooks are also averaging double figures with 17 points per game and 15.3 points per game respectively.
Meanwhile, the Stingers are still waiting for a consistent number-one option to emerge this season in the absence of former CEBL MVP Xavier Moon. Brody Clarke leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game in 11 games played while DeMarco Dickerson is averaging the same in his first three games with the Stingers. Former champions Mathieu Kamba, Jordan Baker and Marlon Johnson are also averaging double figures for Edmonton with each averaging approximately 11 points per game. Baker is leading the league in rebounding and averaging a double-double with 11.1 rebounds per game to go along with 4.8 assists per game.
Both teams are near the bottom of the league offensively, with Newfoundland sitting eighth in points per game and Edmonton sitting ninth. The Stingers also sit last in field goal percentage and three point percentage despite being first in assists per game. The Growlers are better from the field in third at 45.2 per cent and also average a league-best 10.2 steals per game.
The game will stream on CEBL+ live internationally and in Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS
and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Games are also available on the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile, available on iOS and Android devices.
Edmonton Stingers season tickets are available at https://www.thestingers.ca/season-tickets17e760ad while Newfoundland Growlers season tickets are available at https://am.ticketmaster.com/growlers/
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL 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 .